Nas, Messi, 'Harry Potter': Cool National Spelling Bee finalists' passions
They came, they spelled, they conquered.
But who are the kids with the strongest spelling game in the nation? Sure, you know where they're from, how old they are and what words they've formed correctly under lights, cameras and excruciating parental pressure.
But do you know the true essence of the top 10 finalists for the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee? Do you know who has a passion for Harry Potter fan fiction, LeBron James or Macklemore? (Honestly, they're all un-bee-lievable.)
Before you watch the action tonight on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET/PT, take a closer look, with facts courtesy of Scripps:
Snehaa Ganesh Kumar | 12 years old | Folsom, Calif.
Interests: Greek history, culture and mythology; drawing, making jewelry, writing stories, playing the violin and dancing (jazz, contemporary dance and ballet)
Fun facts: Snehaa competed in a Spanish language spelling bee in kindergarten and has a tropical fish named Juliet.
--
Sylvie Lamontagne | 12 years old | Denver, Colo.
Interests: Running races, dancing, hiking, marine biology, Harry Potter fan fiction, correcting grammar and spelling errors
Fun facts: Sylvie has seven fish and two chinchillas
--
Siyona Mishra | 11 years old | Orlando, Fla.
Interests: Reading, listening to music, dancing, visiting historic landmarks, solving math problems, chess and badminton
Fun facts: Siyona is a Broadcom MASTERS nominee, "the premier middle school science and engineering fair competition." She has visited Easter Island, Stonehenge and Mohenjo Daro.
--
Vanya Shivashankar | 13 years old | Olathe, Kansas
Interests: Acting, playing tuba and piano, riding bikes, swimming, eating pizza
Fun facts: Vanya is the winner of the Mid-America Music Association award for Exceptional Pianist and Jazz Pianist.
--
Paul Keaton | 14 years old | Pikeville, Ky.
Interests: Jeopardy!, basketball, chess, classical music
Fun facts: Paul tells Scripps he would love to "meet Donald Trump to get some business advice."
--
Dev Jaiswal | 13 years old | Louisville, Miss.
Interests: Video games, video game music, basketball, martial arts
Fun facts: Dev hopes to one day become an astronaut.
--
Gokul Venkatachalam | 14 years old | Chesterfield, Mo.
Interests: Basketball, rap and alternative music (Nas, Linkin Park, Macklemore), reading (Life of Pi), movies (X-Men: Days of Future Past), math, economics
Fun facts: Gokul's idol is LeBron James.
--
Cole Shafer-Ray | 14 years old | Norman, Okla.
Interests: Soccer, history, rap, hip hop, FIFA 15
Fun facts: Cole is a champion historian and competed in the National History Bee. He hopes to one day meet professional soccer player Lionel Messi.
--
Siddharth Krishnakumar | 13 years old | Pearland, Texas
Interests: Math, science, Future Problem Solving club, reading, music, tennis
Fun facts: Siddharth says he would like to study robotics engineering at MIT.
--
Tejas Muthusamy | 12 years old | Glen Allen, Va.
Interests: Swimming, karate, Indian classical dance, hiking
Fun facts: Tejas has visited the Empire State Building in New York, the Willis Tower in Chicago and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
--
Follow @lindsdee on Twitter, where she'll be live-tweeting the 2015 Scripps National Spelling Bee.