UPDATE: Walnut Creek Intermediate 8th Grader at the National Spelling Bee

UPDATE: Kate Anoufrieva, 14, learned late Wednesday that she would not advance to the semifinal rounds of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Contra Costa Times reported. The semifinal rounds and championship take place Thursday.

After correctly spelling "aerobicize," she had been poised to advance in early rounds of the spelling bee, according to KTVU.com  and Bay City News Service. 

Kate, an eighth-grader at Walnut Creek Intermediate and a native Russian speaker, was among 275 students—three from the Bay Area—competing at the national competition in National Harbor, Md., KTVU and Bay City News reported. 

Kate and the other spellers took a 25-word written test Tuesday and spelled two words on stage. During round two, Kate correctly spelled the word that means to improve physical condition by increasing the heart rate. 

The 50 students with the highest cumulative scores at the end of this round would move on to Thursday's semifinals, with the championship round Thursday night. 

The other Bay Area students come from San Jose and Salinas.  The Bay Area's competitors range in age from 10 to 14. 

Kate won the Contra Costa County Spelling Bee in March, advancing to the national bee, by correctly spelling the word "adage."

"I studied a lot and I think that really helped," Kate, 14, told .  She competed against 10 other finalists in the championship at the Tice Valley Gym. The competition went quickly as eight finalists missed their first words, leaving Kate to compete against Alamo resident Varun Jain, a Dorris-Eaton School sixth-grader. 

The semifinals of the national competition will be broadcast live on ESPN starting at 7 a.m. Thursday, followed by the championship from 5:30 to 7 p.m.