They should put a picture of Harini Logan next to the word “rebound” in the dictionary. Or maybe “resilient.”
The eighth grader from San Antonio, Texas won the 2022 Scripps Spelling Bee on Thursday night, and her victory was both deserving and full of drama.
She was briefly eliminated from the competition during the vocabulary round earlier in the week, before being reinstated and breezing her way into the finals. And then she had to face off against fellow finalist Vikram Raju, 12, in a first ever, lightning-round tiebreaker where both contestants misspelled a few tough words (including “drimys,” a genus of Australian shrubs).
But Logan, 14, emerged victorious after correctly spelling “moorhen” (a female red grouse), which moved her past Raju.
“I think it would have been really easy for me to get deterred, to get sort of like, ‘Wow, why am I missing so much?’” Harini told the Associated Press afterward. “Really just focusing on the next word and knowing that I’m still in, I think was just a big relief for me.”
So for those who have fallen under Logan’s spell, here’s what you need to know about the 2022 Scripps Spelling Bee champion.
Harini Logan has competed at the Scripps National Spelling Bee three times before.
This wasn’t Logan’s first rodeo. She previously competed at Scripps in 2018, when she tied for 323rd place. She moved up the ranks quite a bit the following year, tying for 30th place in 2019, and tied for 31st place last year. (The 2020 competition was canceled due to the pandemic.)
Looks like the fourth time was the charm.
Harini Logan is coached by a spelling bee legend.
Logan is the fifth Scripps champion coached by Grace Walters, a former speller and Rice University student. Walters has been involved in spelling bees and the spelling community for over 11 years, and writes on her bio page that she first got interested in spelling when she was 7.
Logan was also aided by 2020 Scripps winner Navneeth Murali from New Jersey. And when Logan was first eliminated during the vocabulary round, both Walters and Murali — along with Logan’s mother — rushed the stage to speak with the judges.
“Harini has been to hell and back with her spelling bee experiences,” her longtime coach, Grace Walters told the AP.
So why was Harini Logan briefly eliminated?
During the vocabulary round, Logan described “pullulation” as the nesting of mating birds. But Scripps said that the correct answer should be the swarming of bees. Logan’s supporters, including her mother and coach, were able to successfully make the case that her definition was also correct.
Shortly afterward, head judge Mary Brooks reinstated Logan. “We did a little sleuthing after you finished, which is what our job is, to make sure we’ve made the right decision,” she said. “We (did) a little deep dive in that word and actually the answer you gave to that word is considered correct, so we’re going to reinstate you.”
Logan’s response? “My heart stopped for a second,” she said.
She loves to read — but that’s not her favorite subject.
Logan’s biography on the Scripps National Spelling Bee site reveals she is an “avid reader,” and it was her love of the written word that led her to compete in spelling bees. She is also passionate about creative writing, and plans to publish a book while she’s in high school. But her favorite subject in school is actually science.
So what is Harini Logan going to do next?
Before she writes the great American novel, Logan said she plans to celebrate her Scripps Spelling Bee journey by traveling with her family. And she’ll also decompress with her favorite hobbies, which include walking and playing with her four-month-old Cavapoo puppy, Milo, and doing quizzes with her brother. Logan has also got an ear for music; she plays the piano, and she is teaching herself the ukulele.