Top spellers in the CCSD 2019 Spelling Bee.JPG

Pictured are the top spellers from the CCSD 2019 Spelling Bee.

It took 30 rounds to get to the final word of the night in the Charleston County School District (CCSD) 2019 Spelling Bee held Jan. 17 at Burke High School. Orange Grove Charter School seventh grader Ranitha Kumarasinghe spelled “debacle” with ease, giving him the title.

Forty-two students from 38 schools began the competition. Only four scholars took the top-four spots. Eighteen students total advanced to the SpellBound! 2019 competition sponsored by the Post and Courier on March 7.

Kumarasinghe was the 2018 CCSD Spelling Bee runner-up and the winner of the Post and Courier’s SpellBound! 2018 competition.

“I was much more confident this year because I knew the words from last year,” Kumarasinghe said. “I studied every chance I got.” Kumarasinghe edged out John Ryan Ottaviano, an eighth grader from Camp Road Middle School. Kumarasinghe also had to spell “prosciutto” once Ottaviano barely missed it.

CCSD's 2019 Spelling Bee winner Ranitha Kumarasinghe.JPG

Ranitha Kumarasinghe is Charleston County School District’s 2019 Spelling Bee winner. He was also the 2018 CCSD Spelling Bee runner-up and winner of the Post and Courier’s SpellBound! 2018 competition.

“I am very nervous about moving forward to SpellBound!, but I’ll just enjoy the moment right now,” Kumarasinghe said. ”I’ll just continue to study.” The winner of SpellBound! 2019 moves on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., which will be held in May.

CCSD students to advance to Post and Courier’s SpellBound!:

  • 1st place: Ranitha Kumarasinghe, Orange Grove Charter School, 7th grade
  • 2nd place: John Ryan Ottaviano, Camp Road Middle School, 8th grade
  • 3rd place: Randolph Villariza, School of the Arts, 6th grade
  • 4th place: Grace Reed, Laing Middle School, 6th grade

Additional top 18 spellers:

  • Amulanga Adyaeva, Drayton Hall Elementary, 5th grade
  • Wes Baldwin, Thomas C. Cario Middle School, 8th grade
  • Aayush Bansod, Oakland Elementary School, 5th grade
  • Henley Bilbro, Stiles Point Elementary School, 5th grade
  • Pierce Brewer, Springfield Elementary School, 5th grade
  • Celeste Gamble, Charleston Charter for Math and Science, 8th grade
  • Finn Hayes, C.E. Williams Middle School, 6th grade
  • Destiny Mambo, Deer Park Middle School, 5th grade
  • Sophia Milner, Orange Grove Elementary School, 5th grade
  • Harold Mullin, Haut Gap Middle School, 7th grade
  • Luke Nestleroad, Buist Academy, 5th grade
  • Zuriel Nyamutsaka, A.C. Corcoran Elementry School, 5th grade
  • Dinystee Porcher, St. James-Santee Elementary Middle School, 8th grade
  • Keerthana Samuel, St. Andrew’s School of Math and Science, 5th grade

Gretchen Looney, Wando High School’s assistant principal, served as the pronouncer, and Zoe Roff, a math teacher at Northwoods Middle School, was the lead judge.

For more about the 2019 CCSD Spelling Bee, contact the Office of Strategy and Communications at (843) 937-6303.