Three Colorado kids competing in Scripps National Spelling Bee

Haikai. Jolloped. Intertrappean.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to get your eyes checked.

Those are simply the words Colorado’s three expert spellers — Vikram Raju, 12, of Denver; Zoe Keith, 14 of Boulder; and Tejas Raman, 12, of Boulder — aced, respectively, to pass the fourth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Wednesday.

Almost 50 spellers out of the original 234 contestants from across the country are advancing to the fifth round Wednesday afternoon with Colorado’s three whiz kids ready to r-o-c-k.

Raju, a student at Aurora Quest K-8 who is sponsored by The Denver Post, previously competed in 2019, when he tied for 51st place, and 2021, when he tied for 21st place, according to his profile on the spelling bee’s website. In addition to a knack for spelling, Raju enjoys playing basketball and piano.

Keith, a Summit Middle School student, also harbors a passion for ultimate Frisbee and has her eyes set on playing in nationals this summer.

Raman, who attends Boulder Country Day School, loves to play his guitar, practice kung fu and study Latin.

The championship, held near Washington, D.C., will award a grand prize of $50,000 to the champion along with the coveted Scripps Cup trophy.

To watch these talented kids, the ION network will air the semifinals at 6 p.m. Mountain on Wednesday, and you can follow along on Twitter at the account @ScrippsBee.

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