(Image source from: NBC Philadelphia)

Indian origin teen Shruthika Padhy of Cherry Hill is back in the Scripps National Spelling Bee after being one of the top 10 finalists for the last two years.

The eighth-grader is one of the 16 students from New Jersey among the 564 individuals competing in this year’s annual bee.

The finals will be televised on ESPN in prime time on Thursday.

The 13-year-old from Rosa International Middle School is competing in her fourth bee. She tied for 10th last year after finishing seventh the time before and 22nd in her first year.

“It’s great to be able to represent New Jersey for the fourth time,” said Shruthika. “It’s amazing.”

A second New Jersey finalist from last year’s competition, Navneeth Murali, 13, of Edison, also is back. The seventh-grader at Woodrow Wilson Middle School finished fifth.

The spellers will be on stage for two days starting Tuesday when a wrong word means automatic disqualification. The scores of a preliminary written test given Monday will then be used to whittle down those who get through both spelling rounds to no more than 50 students.

They will come back Thursday morning for the finals that will be aired on ESPN2, and after several rounds of spelling, those still in the contest will be on stage Thursday night until a champion is crowned.

The winner will be granted $50,000 along with a trophy, as well as a $2,500 prize and reference library from Merriam-Webster, $400 in reference works from Encyclopædia Britannica, and trips to New York City to appear on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” and to Hollywood for a guest spot on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

By Sowmya Sangam