CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WNCN) — Two Wake County students placed first and second in the Carolina Panthers Regional Spelling Bee on Sunday and are heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Ananya Rao Prassanna, of Davis Drive Middle School, and Reyansh Joshi, of Mills Park Elementary, both in Wake County, placed first and second respectively on Sunday.

The event welcomed top student spellers from grades 3-8 representing 58 school districts in North and South Carolina. Four students from North Carolina and two students from South Carolina qualified for Washington D.C.’s Scripps National Spelling Bee that begins May 28.

“The Carolina Panthers are pleased to partner with Bank of America to provide a high-profile regional Spelling Bee experience for our region’s top student spellers,” Panthers director of community relations Riley Fields said. “The ability to advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee tournament is an exciting opportunity for these students that have worked hard to get to this point.”

The other two qualifiers from the state were out of Gaston and Iredell counties.