Shelly Mesch:

Maya Jadhav, a fifth-grader at Fitchburg’s Eagle School, will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals Thursday where she will compete with 49 of the country’s top spellers.

Maya traveled to National Harbor, Maryland, this week for the Scripps Spelling Bee with seven other Wisconsin students: Immanuel Goveas, from Menomonee Falls North Middle School; Aryan Kalluvila, from Richfield Middle School; Frankie Bautista, from Edgewood Campus School; Kieran McKinney, who is home-schooled; Spencer Phillips, from Indian Mound Middle School; Julianne Washa, from Highland Community Elementary School; and Aiden Wijeyakulasuriya, from Blessed Sacrament School.