Sreethan Gajula of Union County is heading to the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals. He was among 30 students nationwide that made it to the semifinals, and made the final 11 Sunday night.

Gajula, 14, is the lone representative from North Carolina in the competition. He attends Marvin Ridge Middle School and is sponsored by the Carolina Panthers.

“It was really a surreal experience,” Gajula previously said about making it to the semifinals. “Soon as she said, ‘That is correct,’ a lot of emotions were rushing through my mind. I was kind of in a state of shock… it was a really fruitful day today.”