Orinda 7th Grader Advances To Scripps National Spelling Finals

First there were 247. Then nine. One of them is a dead-serious 13-year-old Danville kid who attends school in Orinda, where he is a seventh-grader at Orinda Intermediate School.

Aiden Meng has advanced to the finals in tonight’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, putting both Danville and Orinda on the map in a field represented this year by kids from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. territories and five other countries: The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

Aiden’s pals back in the 24/680 will have to tune in tonight on ION from 8 to 10 p.m. to see how he does. The finals will also air or be streamed on Scripps-owned channels or services: ION Plus, Bounce, Grit, Laff, The Spot, Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More, Scripps News and Scripps Sports Network.

The top returning finisher from 2025, Sarv Dharavane of Dunwoody, Georgia, is also one of this year’s finalists. Sarv finished third last year as an 11-year-old fifth-grader.

Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California, who finished third in 2024, also made it to the finals.

Other finalists include:
Aiden Meng, 13, a seventh-grader from Danville, California
Oliver Halkett, 14, an eighth-grader from Los Angeles
Shrey Parikh, 14, an eighth-grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California
Zwe Spacetime, 14, an eighth-grader from Fort Washington, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. He’s the younger brother of 2021 champion Zaila Avant-garde.
Sarv Dharavane, 12, a sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia
Ishaan Gupta, 12, a seventh-grader from Jersey City, New Jersey
Kushi Gottimukkala, 13, a seventh-grader from Charlotte, North Carolina
Avishka Dudala, 13, an eighth-grader from Dallas
Logan Bailey, 12, a sixth-grader from Houston

Aiden placed second in California State Spelling Bee competition earlier this week.