Plano Student Wins National Spelling Bee!
Everything is bigger in Texas, even our bees! According to NBC, out of 243 spellers competing in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, 22 were from Texas and four were from North Texas.
After the 10th round ended Wednesday, only one of the nine spellers who remained was from Texas: Plano’s Faizan Zaki. 13-year-old Zaki who is a 7th grader at Plano’s C.M. Rice Middle School, has competed four times for the cup. In 2019, he tied for 370th place, in 2023, he tied for 21st, and last year, he finished second!
In an interview with WFAA prior to the competition he said, “It was just very relieving. I have a lot of expectations put on me, so I’m just excited that I’m going to the finals again. Hopefully I can get it done. Especially back home, all of my friends, they tell me that I need to win this year.”
ABC also reports that in the past 100 years, only four runners-up have later gone on to win, and just one did so in the last 44 years. This year, that record was broken. Before given his final word to spell, the moderator and head pronouncer since 2003 Dr. Jacques Bailly had everyone in the room take a deep breath. Zaki took his suggestion, and made the crowd laugh after a light hearted response saying, “That did not help at all.”
Scripps National Spelling bee shared his winning word which was “éclaircissement,” meaning “the clearing up of something obscure : enlightenment.” With no delay, he spelled the word correctly becoming the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion!
As confetti fell from the ceiling, Zaki was greeted by CEO of E.W. Scripps Company Adam Symson with the Scripps Cup custom designed by Rookwood Pottery. In addition to the cup, Zaki also walked away with:
- a $50,000 cash prize and commemorative medal
- $2500 from Merriam Webster and reference library
- $400 of reference works, including a 1768 Encyclopædia Britannica © Replica Set and a three-year membership to Britannica Online © Premium
- $1,000 Scholastic Dollars to be donated to the school of the Champion’s choice in their honor
- A five-year subscription to News-O-Matic for the Champion’s school
When not studying, NBC reports Zaki loves video games, speedcubing, and playing viola. This morning he was asked about his next challenge during an interview with Good Morning America, where Zaki says he hopes to compete in the International Math Olympiad!
The 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee will be held in Washington, D.C., at Constitution Hall as a new venue after being held for the past 14 years at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
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Plano Student Wins National Spelling Bee! was originally published on thebeatdfw.com
