San Diego Student Eliminated from National Spelling Bee

, a seventh-grader from Francis Parker School, was eliminated from the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday.

Nandipati misspelled "kerystic" during round five of the competition. The Rancho Penasquitos resident answered “keristic.” She was the last remaining contestant from California in the competition.

Nandipati was one of 41 contestants who advanced to Thursday's at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.

The 13-year-old correctly spelled “méridienne” during round four. On Wednesday, she correctly spelled “avifauna” and “masala” during the second and third rounds of the competition. All 275 contestants also took a two-hour, 25-word written test during round one of the competition Tuesday.

This is the first time that Francis Parker School has participated in the competition. Nandipati won the school’s spelling contest in February, and she won the San Diego County Spelling Bee Championship in March.

This year’s contestants are in third through eighth grades. Participants include students who won locally sponsored spelling bees in all 50 states, along with American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Schools in Europe. The Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea are also represented in the competition. 

There has only been one champion from Southern California since the Scripps National Spelling Bee began in 1925. Anurag Kashyap of Poway won the competition in 2005.

The semifinal round is still ongoing and can be viewed live on ESPN. The championship round will air at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.