Westview Speller Falls Short at Nationals

Westview Middle School's Ian Bongalonta did a fine job representing Goose Creek on Wednesday at the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee, but didn't quality for the semifinal competition.

More than 278 students began spelling words earlier this week as the event kicked off.

The first round had students take a computerized spelling test with 50 words, of which only 25 would be scored. Then, in the two live rounds, each speller had two chances to test their skills in front of a crowd of 500 audience members. A correctly spelled word in this round earned the contestants three points.

Each contestant could earn up to 31 points. Once the preliminary
rounds were over, spelling bee officials tallied and announced the
results to the nervous children.

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Some of the students Wednesday were playful with their responses. When faced with "ophelimity," Jacob Evers of Florence, S.C., asked, "May I have an easier word?" He went on to spell it correctly.

But for Bongalonta, it was all business. In round two, he easily navigated "jovicentric." In the afternoon, it was "hebdomad," with Bongalonta so sure of himself, he offered the language of origin, followed by the correct spelling.

Bongalonta finished 8th in  good enough for a shot at the regional bee in March, where he won with the correct spelling of "suggestible."

"The irony is I spelled all those words correctly, but I can't think of a word to describe this," he told The Post and Courier.

The semifinals air Thursday morning on ESPN2 beginning at 10 a.m., with the championship live Thursday night a 8 p.m. on ESPN.

Tamika Smith and Michael Theis contributed to this report.