A wrong spelling meant automatic elimination from the contest.
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William Cooper of Redding got an initially cold reception at the Scripps National Spelling Bee with a word for ice crystals, but correctly spelled both his on-stage words.
Each successfully avoided a knockout in the first two rounds of live spelling Wednesday. She also placed in the top 10 in a geography bee this year.
Ariel, a two-time New Mexico representative, spelled “dactylic” (a form of poetic meter) correctly in round two, followed by “certitude” (state of being sure of the truth) correctly in round three.
A seventh-grader at Notre Dame Academy in Carmel Valley, Ella is among 284 spellers competing for the national title.
“It’s been a great experience overall”, he said.
She breezed through “lustrum”, meaning a five year period in a semi-final round.
There were moments of real intensity as judges debated whether a California speller perhaps added an unwanted “i” into her spelling of “conestoga”.
But she nearly didn’t make it into the semi-finals, as her score Tuesday was borderline.
“I want to put it on my college application, ” she said.
The Randhawas will be spending Wednesday night doing last-minute test prep – but only after they go out for a celebratory dinner.
Even if she knows a word, the more she says it, the more her confidence grows.
“She is friends with some of the best brains in the country, ” he said. The annual event is a fun watch on TV; the kids are bright and charismatic and can spell words that befuddle the brain.
“I’m still in elementary (school)”, she said.
Aside from dedicating her time to studying for the spelling bee, she loves to read The Lord of the Rings, Inheritance Cycle and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
“You can show me any logo and I can tell you what company it is”, Akash said. That’s just me, watching. “I think it’s wonderful”, Bailly at a news conference. In 2014, Ansun Sujoe, 13, and Sriram Hathwar, 14, nailed “feuilleton” and “stichomythia”, respectively, to clinch their shared victory after they took turns firing off the correct sequence of letters to decode the 25 words on a predetermined list. In all, 45 students from all over the world will be back Thursday for the final round.
“I was really excited to get to the nationals”, Cooper said.
Whatever happens today, the Randhawas are just thrilled with the whole week.
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Her word in Round 3, “disbursement, ” ended her quest for this year’s championship, She spelled it “d-i-s-p-e-r-s-e-m-e-n-t”.
