Howard County Student Makes Finals At National Spelling Bee

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD — A Clarksville student made it to the final round at the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee. A Texas student ultimately won the competition.

Saketh Sundar, 12, who attends Clarksville Middle School, was among more than 500 contestants in the bee, which was broadcast on ESPN.

Sundar soared through multiple rounds until this word threw him for a loop in the finals: glycyrrhizin. He spelled it "glycericin."

The 7th grader correctly spelled these words: mysticete, ethanol, Romanesque, nundinal and mysteriarch.

A fan of Toy Story 3, Saketh Sundar isn't playing around today as he spells correctly! #SpellingBee #Speller251 pic.twitter.com/QhxZgIe0ab
— NationalSpellingBee (@ScrippsBee) May 31, 2018

What did his words mean?

• Mysticete: whalebone whale
• Ethanol: a chemical compound used as the intoxicating agent in alcohol and as a fuel solvent
• Romanesque: architectural style with arches and more that developed in Europe from 1000 to 1200
• Nundinal: letters corresponding to days of the week in the ancient Roman trading calendar
• Mysteriarch: one who presides over mysteries
• Glycrrhizin: a sweetening compound that comes from licorice root

"...I was like, I don't know this word, but I thought to guess it," Sundar told ABC 7 afterward of glycrrhizin.

The seventh grade student did his best, which his father said was the goal. "You're not going against the spellers; you're going against the words," the speller's father told ABC 7.

The preliminary rounds took place Tuesday and Wednesday and the finals wrapped up on Thursday, May 31. Sundar made it through seven rounds.

Karthik Nemmani, an eighth grade student from Texas, was the winner of the 2018 bee.

Students may participate through eighth grade, meaning Sundar has a chance to compete again next year, which would be his fourth appearance.

Sundar also made it to the finals at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2017, when he came in 12th place while a student at Mayfield Woods Middle School. In 2016, when he attended Bellows Spring, he came in 41st place.

"...I never expected this to happen," Sundar told NBC in 2017 of making it to the bee two years in a row, adding: "...this happening is amazing."

Our student Saketh did AMAZING in the @ScrippsBee, making it to the finals today. Way to represent, Saketh! He made us all proud. @hcpss_cms #SpellingBee #Speller251 #CelebrateHCPSS https://t.co/6kdGSirEsQ
— HCPSS (@HCPSS) May 31, 2018

SEE ALSO:

• HoCo Speller Competes In 2017 National Bee
• Howard County Student in 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Main photo: Sundar at the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on June 1, 2017. Close to 300 spellers competed that year for the top honor in the annual spelling contest. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)