(WXYZ) — Michigan will be represented by nine spellers when the kids begin competing in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
They will be numbers 104-112.
Here is the list of names:
104 Ainsley Gastmeier
105 Divya Choudhary
106 Elliott Covelle
107 Josiah Loehrke
108 Zander Myers
109 Eliza Schwass
110 Ishika Dirisala
111 Minna Danziger
112 Sanvi Mandvekar
Here is more information on each from the spelling bee.
Ainsley Gastmeier age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: Macomb Intermediate School District
Clinton Township, Michigan
School: Trinity Lutheran School
Bio: Ainsley seeks adventure, enjoying both video games and roller coasters. She loves to camp with her family each summer as well. Ainsley also enjoys calmer pursuits, including watching “Jeopardy” and two of her favorite movies: “The Mitchells vs The Machines” and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Ainsley loves cats, but she has a goldendoodle named Riley who loves to eat money, cheese and more traditional dog treats. Ainsley herself, however, likes eating tacos.
Divya Choudhary age 11 | grade 6
Sponsored By: WXYZ Channel 7
Detroit, Michigan
School: Canton Charter Academy
Previous Bee Experience: Divya previously competed in 2024 (tied for 60th place).
Bio: Divya is a jack of all trades who enjoys singing, swimming and playing the saxophone. She can always be found with her nose in a good book, but she is also an extrovert and loves to socialize. Divya loves astronomy and mythology. Divya is currently working on a robotics project for the NASA Artemis III mission. Divya named her robot “Diana” because it is the Roman name for Artemis, and Diana was at Robofest 2025.
Elliott Covelle age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: Kent Intermediate School District
Grand Rapids, Michigan
School: Northern Hills Middle School
Bio: started playing piano at age 3, and she recently switched to singing lessons. She has been in Girl Scouts West Michigan Troop 4895 since kindergarten and has earned her Bronze Award and is working toward her Silver Award. Elliott loves to read, including fantasy, mystery, horror, science fiction and romance. Elliott also enjoys writing and is manifesting that she will be a New York Times Bestselling author. Her favorite school subject is English, and her least favorite is math. Elliott enjoys going for walks outside, playing “Pokémon Go,” solving word puzzles and binge-watching 7-season-long television series, movies or reality shows like “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race.”
Josiah Loehrke age 11 | grade 5
Sponsored By: Kalamazoo Experiential Learning Center
Kalamazoo, Michigan
School: El Sol Dual Language School
Bio: Josiah is a terrific athlete, excelling at basketball, baseball and soccer. He also has an ear for music and plays cello, upright bass and piano. Classical piano is Josiah's favorite kind of music, and he'd much rather jam to Scott Joplin than anything pop. He treasures his friends, family and school, and he's a positive influence to all those around him. In his free time, he likes to read, practice spelling and play outside when he can. He also serves at his church.
Zander Myers age 11 | grade 5
Sponsored By: The County Press
Lapeer, Michigan
School: Murphy Elementary School
Bio: Zander's hobbies include playing the trumpet in his school band, reading, writing stories and playing Fortnite and other video games with his friends. In his free time, he likes to have sleepovers with his friends and play sports like football and baseball. His biggest accomplishment is reading at an 11th grade level since the third grade.
Eliza Schwass age 14 | grade 8
Sponsored By: West Shore Educational Service District
Ludington, Michigan
School: Oliver J. Dejonge Middle School
Bio: Eliza is an outdoors enthusiast who enjoys birding, hiking and photographing nature. She is also an athlete who loves being a member of her school's cross country, track and swim teams. In the rest of her free time, you can often find her reading a book or writing poems.
Ishika Dirisala age 12 | grade 6
Sponsored By: The Herald-Palladium
St. Joseph, Michigan
School: Upton Middle School
Bio: Ishika enjoys a variety of hobbies, including playing volleyball and tennis, playing cello for orchestra and competing in Mathcounts and Science Olympiad. She also loves watching comedy movies, spending time with friends, listening to the latest pop music and reading fiction.
Minna Danziger age 12 | grade 6
Sponsored By: Traverse City Record-Eagle
Traverse City, Michigan
School: Leland Public School
Bio: Minna is very active in sports: she plays soccer, basketball and does alpine ski racing. She enjoys reading, math and spending time in northern Minnesota every summer for sleepaway camp. She also likes baking and can make a delicious guacamole. Right now, she's learning Swedish and hopes to attend high school partially in Sweden.
Sanvi Mandvekar age 13 | grade 8
Sponsored By: Oakland Schools Education Foundation
Waterford, Michigan
School: Larson Middle School
Bio: Sanvi is an avid reader and enjoys all genres. She is a runner and loves training in her free time. She also prioritizes spending time with family and friends. Sanvi is the head editor of her school’s newspaper and competes in HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America). She loves being in the outdoors because it calms her down and helps her think clearly!
