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A 12-year-old from Hudson County is making the Garden State proud after a nail-biting performance on the national stage.
Ishaan Gupta, a seventh-grader from Jersey City, captured second place at the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
The intense finale came down to a rapid-fire spell-off against a 14-year-old competitor from California. Gupta put up a fight, correctly spelling 25 words in the designated timeframe, while the California champion clinched the title with 32 correct words.
For his second-place finish, the Jersey City native takes home a $25,000 cash prize and a prestigious silver medal.
Long before striking it big at the national spelling bee, Gupta was already making waves in his local community as an avid reader with a personal library of more than 650 books.
He is a true Renaissance kid with an impressive list of achievements:
- Published author: Gupta was previously featured by The Week Junior and NJ.com for co-authoring a climate fiction book titled "The Martian Miracle: Ivaan and the Climate Crisis" to raise environmental awareness.
- STEM champion: His passion for the environment earned him a gold medal at the 2024 Hudson County STEM Showcase.
- Musician and athlete: When he isn't studying words, Gupta plays the piano in his school band, plays soccer and tennis, swims and loves outdoor adventures. He has already completed two 5K runs and tackled an 18-mile biking challenge.
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