An eighth grader from Corona was eliminated in the eighth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee Wednesday, finishing in an eight-way tie for ninth, three places higher than last year.
Avijeet Randhawa misspelled Abitibi, the name of a lake in Canada on the Ontario-Quebec border and a river in eastern Ontario. He spelled it “Abatibby.”
With the bee limited to students in eighth grade or below, this was Avijeet’s final bee.
The eight spellers who spelled their eighth-round words correctly advanced to Thursday’s finals. There are two Californians in the finals — Shrey Parikh, who completed sixth grade at Day Creek Intermediate School in Rancho Cucamonga last week, and Rishabh Saha, an eighth grader at Herbert H. Cruickshank Middle School in Merced.
Avijeet reached the semifinals for the second consecutive year on Wednesday when he correctly answered his fifth-round multiple-choice word meaning question, “A person described as woozy is:” by selecting “experiencing dizziness, mild nausea, or weakness.”
In the sixth round, he correctly spelling larid, a bird of the family Laridae. He correctly answered his seventh-round word meaning question, “What does it mean to be mercurial?” by selecting, “characterized by unpredictable changeableness.”
Avijeet began Wednesday’s quarterfinals by correctly spelling procellous, an adjective meaning stormy. Of the 148 spellers who advanced to the quarterfinals from the original field of 245, the largest since 2019, 89 were eliminated in the fourth round.
The Auburndale Intermediate School student began the bee Tuesday by correctly spelling raclette, a Swiss dish of melted cheese, typically eaten with potatoes. He then chose the correct answer to the vocabulary question, “What is a moratorium?” by selecting “a delay officially set by some authority.”
Avijeet advanced to the quarterfinals by correctly spelling palynological, an adjective related to a branch of science dealing with pollen and spores, in Tuesday’s third round at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
There were 54 spellers eliminated in the first round, 15 in the second and 28 in the third.
Avijeet was eliminated in the eighth round of last year’s bee when he misspelled pridian, an adjective meaning of or relating to a previous day or to Tuesday, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. He spelled it “predian.”
Avijeet was among nine spellers tying for 12th last year.
Avijeet qualified for the national bee by winning the Riverside County Spelling Bee in March, correctly spelling crescendo as the final word.
This was the eighth and final time a member of the Randhawa family competed in the national bee. A member of the Randhawa family won all eight county bees since 2016. The 2020 bee was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Avijeet’s sister Aisha competed in the national bee from 2016-19, with her best finish coming in 2018 when she tied for seventh. His sister Lara was among 10 spellers tying for 13th in 2022 and reached the quarterfinals in 2021.
Avijeet enjoys playing the video game Minecraft, pickleball, drums and guitar and building large Lego structures. In his free time, he often plays basketball and goes on brief walks. He likes to watch animals as they explore and live their lives.
The bee will conclude Thursday.
No speller from Riverside County has won the bee.