Cherry Hill Middle School Student Competes In National Spelling Bee Finals

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A Cherry Hill native was among the final seven competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday night in Washington, D.C. Eleven-year-old Shruthika Padhy, a sixth grader at Rosa International Middle School advanced to the ninth round of the finals before she succumbed when presented with the word "quintain," meaning a post with a crosspiece.

Earlier in the evening, she qualified for the ninth round by correctly spelling the word "facies," meaning rocks that differ from comparable rocks.

Along the way, she spelled multiple other words most people and computer spell checks would be hard-pressed to figure out. These words included bodhran (shallow handheld Irish drum); genipap (edible orange-sized fruit); sylloge (a collection); and fastuous (ostentatious or showy).

Ananya Vinay, a sixth-grader from Fresno, California, won the competition late Thursday night.

Padhy tied for 22nd in the country last year, according to 6 ABC. The day began with 40 contestants following the preliminary competition earlier this week. She was one of 15 competitors who advanced to the prime time rounds after competing in the morning.

In addition to being a fantastic speller, she reads, swims on her local swim team, runs cross country and enjoys math, according to her profile on the spelling bee’s website. She is passionate about Indian classical music. She sings in the chorus and plays the piano and the flute.

Patch will provide updates as tonight's competition progresses.

Patch file photo