St. Cloud Eighth Grader Heads To The National Spelling Bee

COLLEGEVILLE (WJON News) -- A St. Cloud girl will be among the competitors next week at the 100th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Emmaline Bushman is an eighth grader at Saint John's Prep.

The 14-year-old is the daughter of Catharine and Brendon Bushman of St. Cloud.

The preliminaries in Washington, D.C. will be on Tuesday, the quarterfinals and semifinals are on Wednesday, and the finals on Thursday.

Bushman is one of 245 contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Minnesota has nine contestants in 2025:
Carter Peterson - Austin
Gemma Kim - Duluth
Jaden Go - East Grand Forks
Eli Schlosser - Fergus Falls
Charles Mueller-Thompson - Marshall
Wade Slavey - Minneapolis
Anya Stoll - St. Peter
Josslyn Hansen - Wadena
Emmaline Bushman - St. Cloud

The first National Spelling Bee was held on June 17th, 1925.

Minnesota has only had one national champion, Sean Conley of Aitkin, in 2001.

Texas has produced the most champions with 16, followed by Ohio with nine, Pennsylvania with eight, and Colorado and Tennessee both with seven.

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Bushman earned her trip to the national bee by placing first in the regional spelling bee back in February.

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