The room fell quiet as he stood under the bright lights and paused on the word, carefully spelling it in his mind before speaking aloud.

S-O-C-I-U-S

By spelling this word correctly, Coppell Middle School East eighth grader Krish Manjunath was declared the co-champion of the Dallas Regional Spelling Bee, securing a place for himself at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. from May 26-28.

Krish’s interests have rarely remained constant over the years. Prior to spelling bee, he pursued a range of other competitive hobbies.

“He was competing in a lot of math competitions and even won the Math Olympiad in fifth grade, and then he went on to running during the pandemic. He was one of the youngest people to run a full Irving Marathon. Then he got into classical piano,” Krish’s father, Mike Manjunath, said. “That is one thing about Krish, his interests change. Every couple of years, he will achieve something, and then he wants to do something else.”

For the past two years, Krish shifted his focus to spelling, knowing this would be his final chance to compete. The motivation dates back to seventh grade, when he advanced to the Dallas Regional Spelling Bee but did not move on.

“I lost last year, and I feel like it was a major setback, but I kept on studying,” Krish said. “My dad [motivated me] because he has always been here for me, supporting me throughout this journey.”

His father was there to support Krish.

“Last year was his first year, and he somehow made it to regionals and lost. He was devastated,” Mr. Manjunath said. “At that point, he could have easily gone and said, ‘Hey, I don’t want to do this.’ But my approach was to come there and sit down with him and say ‘Look, this is your first year and 99% of the people don’t even get here, so you are really good at this’.”

With his dad’s support, Krish continues to spell, and his friend, CMSE eighth grader Yohan Pullagurla, has see his journey playout to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

“I have seen Krish study numerous times in many classes in school, when he gets free time,” Pullagurla said. “He makes sure to not wait and to put as much in a short amount of time, because he knows his time is valuable.”

In addition to encouragement from peers, Krish’s teacher has recognized his development as a speller.

“For me, when a student shows creative thinking, it means they are fully engaged and dedicated to what they’re doing,” CMSE Building Young Leaders teacher Stephen Danby said. “I think that for Krish, his talents as a speller are kind of a direct result of him looking creatively at how words are constructed and their history and their meaning, and I think just his style of learning is very conducive to great spelling.”

The speller is recognized by those closest to him.

“Coming through Dallas Regionals is very difficult and challenging, so it was a very proud moment, ” Mr. Manjunath said. “I’m happy for him because this is an experience in itself. It is a seven-day experience and just being with other like-minded spellers; I think he would enjoy it.”

Along with his achievement at the Dallas Regional Spelling Bee, Krish appreciates the strong work ethic he put towards it.

“The preparation has taught me a lot about the power of hard work,” Krish said. “If you dedicate yourself to something and study a lot, you can do anything.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from its original version

This story was originally published on Coppell Student Media on April 24, 2026.