‘Chorten’ makes her champ
JENIA MARQUEZ was pronounced the second champion Tuesday of the annual New York Daily News Spelling Bee after a spellbinding head-to-head battle with defending champ Srinath Mahankali.
The 13-year-old student from Hunter College High School in Manhattan went back and forth with Srinath for nearly an hour as each spelled one word after another correctly.
When fellow eighth-grader Srinath stumbled on “ditokous” — using a “d” in the middle instead of a “t” — Jenia clinched the silver trophy by correctly spelling “chorten.” That means a monument to a distinguished Buddhist.
“I’m really surprised and also elated. I never thought I would make it this far,” Jenia said after her upset victory. “It’s my last year of eligibility, so I’m really happy.”
Jenia and Brooklyn 13-year-old Ella Espiritu, who won Monday’s rounds by not falling on “capitulation,” a noun meaning surrender, will now head to Washington to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the end of May.
Srinath, a student at Junior High School 74 in Queens, had high hopes of swatting the competition Tuesday and competing for a third time at the national level.
His brother Arvind Mahankali, 17, won the national bee in 2013.
When the judges first ruled Srinath misspelled “ditokous” — an adjective for producing two young or laying two eggs at a time — a dispute erupted over whether he substituted a “d” for a “t,” with his father arguing he spelled it correctly.
The judges listened to a playback three times, as Srinath anxiously chewed his lip, and ultimately ruled he had erred.
Jenia then stepped forward to spell her last word correctly.
“We’re very proud,” beaming mom Irina Marquez said.
A total of 75 kids competed Tuesday to wrap up the two-day event produced in partnership with the city Department of Education. The bee was presented by the New York Public Library and held in the library. It was sponsored by Medieval Times, PC Richard & Son and The Sebastian Mountain Trust.
“You are all winners. Every single one of you is a winner. You’ve done great things and you should be proud of yourselves,” Daily News Editor-in-Chief Arthur Browne told the competitors.
New York’s Hometown Newspaper became a bee backer 53 years ago as a way to encourage literacy and education in the city.