2023-2024 Tomball ISD Spelling Bee Champions Crowned
Tomball ISD students representing campuses across the district took part in the annual District Spelling Bee and Spanish Spelling Bee Competitions, hosted at the Tomball Event Center. Three overall winners were crowned, representing the District Spelling Bee and both the Elementary and Secondary Spanish Spelling Bee.
District Spelling Bee
Creekside Park Junior High student and 2-time reigning National Spelling Bee participant Ishika Varipilli captured a first place finish at the District Spelling Bee. She competed through 16 rounds and took home top honors after spelling ‘cauterize’ correctly. She is now a 5-time District Spelling Bee winner.
Willow Wood Junior High’s Maanit Patel took second and Tomball Intermediate student Brendan Nguyen took third.
The District Spelling Bee featured campus winners from across the district who participated at their respective school and earned a spot to compete for an overall crown.
As the District’s overall winner, Ishika Varipilli will move on to the area level and represent Tomball ISD at the Houston Public Media Spelling Bee later this year. From there, the top spellers of the Houston Public Media Spelling Bee will advance to the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee; expenses paid by Houston Public Media. The 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee is planned for National Harbor, Maryland, the week of Memorial Day.
Campus Champions - Spelling Bee
- Canyon Pointe Elementary - Karthick Sivakumar
- Creekside Forest Elementary - Reeva Nevaskar
- 1ST - Creekside Park Junior High - Ishika Varipilli
- Creekview Elementary - Dhruv Arun
- Decker Prairie Elementary - Brayden Alfaro
- Grand Lakes Junior High - Troy Douglas
- Grand Oaks Elementary - Pia Vaidya
- Lakewood Elementary - Jonathan Mathews
- Northpointe Intermediate - Dheeraj Kumar
- Oakcrest Intermediate - Manthan Panchal
- Rosehill Elementary - Matthew Breaux
- Timber Creek Elementary - Cole Obrock
- Tomball Elementary - Kylle Gonzales
- 3RD - Tomball Intermediate - Brendan Nguyen
- Tomball Junior High - Luke Guillot
- Wildwood Elementary - Kavya Balamurugesh
- Willow Creek Elementary - Ifrah Zahid
- 2ND - Willow Wood Junior High - Maanit Patel
District Spanish Spelling Bees
Oakcrest Intermediate fifth grade student Oriana Pineda captured the top finish in the Spanish Spelling Bee for Grades 3-5. Pineda spelled the final word, ‘anglohablante’ correctly in an impressive 38 rounds.
Following in second place and third place, respectively, were Canyon Pointe third grade student Elena Vargus Almodovar and Northpointe Intermediate fifth grade student Hector Hinestroza Faria.
Campus Champions - Spanish Spelling Bee, Grades 3-5
- 2ND - Canyon Pointe Elementary - Elena Vargas Almodovar
- Canyon Pointe Elementary - Victoria Rivera Zapata
- Canyon Pointe Elementary - Jane Manzano Viveros
- Lakewood Elementary - Ricardo Castellanos Pliego
- Rosehill Elementary - Marco Montes Lemus
- Rosehill Elementary - Sydney Barnett
- Rosehill Elementary - Vanessa Salas
- Timber Creek Elementary - Claudia Garcia de Albizu Ibanez
- Timber Creek Elementary - Rodrigo Caballero Madero
- Timber Creek Elementary - Lara Sanchez Ruiz
- 3RD - Northpointe Intermediate - Hector Hinestroza Faria
- 1ST - Oakcrest Intermediate - Oriana Pineda
- Oakcrest Intermediate - Venecia Villalobos
- Oakcrest Intermediate - Anabella Suarez Rosales
- Tomball Intermediate - Zoe Mata Ortiz
- Tomball Intermediate - Ian Powery
- Tomball Intermediate - Monserrath Abularach Tovias
Grand Lakes Junior High eighth grade student Linda Farias captured the top finish in the Spanish Spelling Bee, grades 6-8. She spelled the winning word, ‘pealada’ correctly in 18 rounds.
Following in second place and third place, respectively, were Grand Lakes Junior High eighth grade student Alejandro Alvarado Moya and Willow Wood Junior High eighth grade student Isabel Jerez Weir.
Campus Champions - Spanish Spelling Bee, Grades 6-8
- Oakcrest Intermediate - Paola Barrios Briceno
- Oakcrest Intermediate - Bailey Mendoza
- Oakcrest Intermediate - Valeria Guerrero Rivas
- Tomball Intermediate - Aldo Cardenas
- Tomball Intermediate - Dania Castillo Martinez
- Tomball Intermediate - Adrian Ruiz Chaparro
- Creekside Park Junior High - Maria Fuentes Gonzalez
- Creekside Park Junior High - Sofia Hernandez Madrigal
- Creekside Park Junior High - Regina Camarena Romero
- 2ND- Grand Lakes Junior High - Alejandro Alvarado Moya
- Grand Lakes Junior High - Ethan Haase
- 1ST - Grand Lakes Junior High - Linda Farias
- Tomball Junior High - Fernando Colunga
- Tomball Junior High - Esther Powery Bustamante
- Tomball Junior High - Isabel Jaramillo Pacheco
- 3RD - Willow Wood Junior High - Isabel Jerez Weir
- Willow Wood Junior High - Matias Alfaro Padilla
- Willow Wood Junior High - Veronica Ramirez Camargo
Source: Tomball ISD
