From left, are Jefferson Elementary School Principal Josh Wall, Jefferson fifth-grader and spelling bee runner-up Konrad Kolembe, Harrison Elementary School fifth-grader and spelling bee winner Dhanishka Sudarsan, and Harrison Elementary School Principal Matt Deeds. Photo provided by Warsaw Community Schools.

Press Release

WARSAW — Harrison Elementary School fifth-grader Dhanishka Sudarsan won the 2023 Warsaw Community Schools’ spelling bee.

Jefferson Elementary School fifth-grader Konrad Kolembe was the runner-up.

Sudarsan will be registered into spellingbee.com to take the Regional Qualifier Test (a 50-item spelling and word meaning test) between Feb. 10 and 17. The top area finishers on the Regional Qualifier Test will advance to the Scripps National Indiana Regional Bee in March.

Spelling bee participants were Kennedy Shilling, Christopher (Van) Crisp, Barrett Hodorek, Caroline Clemens, Chaitrali Chavan, Madisyn Bowen, Brody Anderson, Cameron Thompson, Jonah Burgher, Jayla Bautista, Elizabeth Eckman, Carson Haack, Abigail Hale, Sudarsan, and Kolembe.

Matt Deeds, Harrison Elementary principal, served as the emcee and announcer. Honorary guest judges included Claypool Elementary School Principal Missy Rees; Leesburg Elementary School Principal Nate Polston; and Washington STEM Academy Principal Cheri Sleighter.