State spelling bee hopefuls head to next level

WASHINGTON — Seven of Texas’ best spelling whizzes earned slots to the next round of a national spelling bee Tuesday morning.

Hailing from San Antonio, Sugar Land, Pearland, Dickinson, Spring, Katy and Beaumont, the contestants spelled their words correctly in the oral spelling round — advancing to Wednesday’s second day of competition. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an annual competition that brings more than 500 of the most advanced young spellers from every state to compete in D.C. The bee started with a preliminary round Tuesday morning.

Pranav Chemudpaty, a 14-yearold from Nolan Ryan Junior High School in Pearland, said he was confident he’d correctly spell “fritillaria,” a plant or bulb with checkered flowers, because he’d already reviewed the term.

“I try not to be too confident, but I just look at the pronouncer,” he said. “It’s nice because I’ve been trying really hard to be here.”

Harini Logan, a 10-year-old from the Montessori School of San Antonio, said she’s watched the Scripps spelling bee every year and always aspired to enter the competition. She said she felt confident because she could ask the pronouncer any question she’d like to ask about the word “terek,” meaning a sandpiper of the old world, which she spelled correctly.

“It’s really exciting — I watched all these spellers tackle all these words I didn’t know, and now I’m one of those people,” Logan said.

When Benjamin Chen, an 11year-old from Sallie Curtis Elementary School in Beaumont, correctly spelled “kathak” — a classical Indian dance — he’d also secured a spot in Wednesday’s competition.

His mother, Xisong Hung, said her son didn’t prepare for spelling bee competitions until he qualified for the national bee. When he earned a spot, Hung said he started reviewing more terms and began to have fun alongside his competitors.

“I’m happy for him,” she said. “He’s not sure now if he wants to keep going, but he’s telling me he’s having fun now and he’d like to do it next year.”

When Tuesday’s round closed, 454 out of 519 total contestants remained in the competition.

Spellers on stage Tuesday had already passed a written exam. Contestants must complete two oral spelling rounds during the preliminary round. Their results, combined with the written test scores, will determine whether they advance to the finals Thursday.

After the next oral spelling round, the number spellers will be knocked down to 50 for the finals. ESPN live-streams the entire competition.