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This ‘audacious’ fourth-grader is Forsyth County 2020 spelling bee champion
2020 FCS Spelling Bee
Sharanya Vats (center), a fourth-grader at Coal Mountain Elementary School, won the annual Forsyth County Schools spelling bee on Saturday, Jan. 11. Also pictured, from left to right, are fourth runner-up and alternate Nikhil Gaonkar of Brandywine Elementary; third runner-up Sarah Hackett of Little Mill Middle; second runner-up Samuel Giganti of Liberty Middle; and first runner-up Anika Kulkarni of DeSana Middle. Photo courtesy Forsyth County Schools

After two-and-a-half hours and 14 rounds of competition, Sharanya Vats, a fourth-grader at Coal Mountain Elementary School, correctly spelled ‘audacious’ to become the Forsyth County Schools spelling bee champion.

Vats outlasted 30 competitors from each of the county’s elementary and middle schools on Jan. 11.

Anika Kulharni of DeSana Middle School was the first runner-up, followed by Liberty Middle School’s Samuel Giganti and Little Mill Middle School’s Sarah Hackett.

Nikhil Goankar, of Brandwine Elementary School, is the county alternate.

Vats and the three runners-up advance to the region spelling bee to be held in February in Marietta.

Here are the winners from individual Forsyth County schools:

  • Big Creek ES, Rama Alla, fourth-grade
  • Brandywine ES, Nikhil Gaonkar, fifth-grade
  • Brookwood ES, Anish Raja, fifth-grade
  • Chattahoochee ES, Camden Marsden, fifth-grade
  • Chestatee ES, William Merck, fifth-grade
  • Coal Mountain ES, Sharanya Vats, fourth-grade
  • Cumming ES, Gabriel Gallo, fourth-grade
  • Daves Creek ES, Tanish Jampala, fifth-grade
  • DeSana MS, Anika Kulkarni, eighth-grade
  • Haw Creek ES, Nikhil Vellanki, fifth-grade
  • Johns Creek ES, Isitha Thanthiriwatte, fifth-grade
  • Kelly Mill ES, Abigail Rushton, fifth-grade
  • Lakeside MS, Aditi Dantuluri, seventh-grade
  • Liberty MS, Samuel Giganti, seventh-grade
  • Little Mill MS, Sarah Hackett, sixth-grade
  • Mashburn ES, Pranesh Kumar, fifth-grade
  • Matt ES, Chloe Coddington, fifth-grade
  • Midway ES, Harshithram Ganeshram, fifth-grade
  • North Forsyth MS, Emily Durand, eighth-grade
  • Otwell MS, Anoushka Dutta, sixth-grade
  • Piney Grove MS, Shreya Lakshmisha, eighth-grade
  • Riverwatch MS, Rishona Nadar, eighth-grade
  • Sawnee ES, Izoduwa Owie, fifth-grade
  • Settles Bridge ES, Amey Saokar, fifth-grade
  • Sharon ES, Aahana Borkar, fourth-grade
  • Shiloh Point ES, Ayush Sur, fourth-grade
  • Silver City ES, Mateusz Skoplak, fifth-grade
  • South Forsyth MS, Siddhaut Deshmukh, seventh-grade
  • Vickery Creek ES, Brayden Tirico, fourth-grade
  • Vickery Creek MS, Daniel Rogers, eighth-grade
  • Whitlow ES, Juliana Rivera, fifth-grade