Culver City 7th Grader Makes it Into Second Day of National Spelling Bee

Seventh-graders attending middle schools in Culver City and Irvine correctly spelled their second-round words today at the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland.

Cooper Komatsu, who attends Culver City Middle School, correctly spelled amarillo. Sarika Rau, a student at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine, correctly spelled triumvirate.

The correct spellings advance them to the third round, which will be held later today at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

Spellers who spell their third-round word correctly can be among the maximum of 50 spellers advancing to Thursday’s semifinals if their score on the multiple-choice spelling and vocabulary test taken Tuesday is high enough. A misspelling in either the second or third round means the contestant is eliminated.

The semifinalists will be announced after the conclusion of the third round.

Amarillo is a noun referring to any of several tropical American timber trees.

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City News Service