Bowling Green Junior High School student Ian Gibson can probably spell better than you.

Gibson, 14, will advance to the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee and compete in National Harbor, Maryland, for the second year in a row

“I went last year and it was a great experience,” he said. “I’m excited to do that again.”

He previously tied for 122nd place among over 230 spellers from across the country and beyond. This year’s competition will see 57 spellers return from 2023.

Gibson said he prepares for competition whenever he has free time, often using an app on his phone to practice. He appreciates the challenge of the competition and the ability to work toward something, he said.

“There’s a lot of studying that goes into it,” Ian Gibson said. “I think it’s a manageable amount, but it’s still not a small feat.”

He said he hopes he to make it further than his 2023 run, but ultimately aims to “just get as far as I can.” He will compete later this month among 245 spellers including five others from Kentucky.

His parents, Ting-Hui Lee and Steven Gibson, said they are “very proud and very happy to support him in this.”

“It’s an adventure,” Steven Gibson said. “It’s nothing that we never imagined that was going to happen before the first time, and then here we are again.”

The Scripps National Spelling Bee semifinals will be May 29 from 7-9 p.m. CT and the finals will run May 30 from 7-9 p.m. CT. The competition will be broadcast on ION Television.

— Follow education reporter and Report for America corps member Michael J. Collins on X.com @MJCollinsNews or visit bgdailynews.com.