Apex, N.C. — About 70 school-level spelling champions gathered at Davis Drive Middle School last week for the Wake County district-level spelling bee, which lasted several hours and featured almost 40 rounds of competition.

Holden Good, an eighth-grader at Moore Square Magnet Middle School, was named the district bee champion.

Kushi Gottimukkala, a seventh-grader at Carnage Magnet Middle, finished second, and Sach Akella, a seventh-grader at Mills Park Middle, finished third.

The top three finishers will advance to the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee presented by Bank of America next month. The Regional Bee will be held at Bank of America Stadium and will provide district-level winners from North and South Carolina the opportunity to compete for an invitation to the National Bee.

Garner, NC

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