A Culver City seventh-grader advanced to the semifinals of the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee Wednesday in National Harbor, Maryland, but an Irvine student was eliminated from the competition.
Cooper Komatsu, who attends Culver City Middle School, correctly spelled “amarillo” — a noun referring to several tropical American timber trees — and “nockerl” — an Austrian souffle — during the second and third rounds.
Sarika Rau, a seventh-grader at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine, correctly spelled “triumvirate” and “factitious,” an adjective meaning artificially created or developed. But her overall score, which included the results of a multiple-choice spelling and vocabulary test taken Tuesday, fell short of what was needed to advance to the semifinals at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.
Komatsu is one of 49 contestants to reach the semifinals, which will be held Thursday.
— City News Service