Local students overcome words and nerves at 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee

Jayden Jiang Philly s regional champion learned something at this year s Scripps National Spelling Bee which wrapped up Thursday in Maryland and it wasn t about trying to spell out complex words I want to do it again because I enjoyed this process and learned a lot throughout this journey Jiang who finished tied for st place after competing in seven rounds stated Billy Penn but the anxiety while on the stage was one thing I did not like The semifinal-round finish for Jiang a fifth-grader at Girard Academic Music Operation improved on his first appearance at the competition last year where he finished in a tie for th I think the tournament went pretty well for me this year At least I did better than last year Jiang noted I achieved the goals that I set for myself before coming to the Scripps National Spelling Bee Philadelphia s regional spelling bee champion Jayden Jiang competes at the at the National Spelling Bee in Maryland Courtesy of Anna Phillips Isaac Geremew who represented South Jersey at the bee finished tied for th place after lasting five rounds and dropping out in the quarterfinals The seventh-grader at William Davies Middle School in Mays Landing N J previously competed in when he finished tied for rd His older brother Leul represented the region in I definitely had a lot more spelling experience this year but I was disappointed when I got out in the quarterfinals I was hoping to beat my previous ranking from Geremew wrote in a text message This year s bee the th anniversary of the competition was won in dramatic fashion after rounds by last year s runner-up -year-old Faizan Zaki from Allen Texas His winning word was claircissement a French word describing clarification or enlightenment Yeah we ve never heard of this word before either Geremew stated watching the final was his highlight this year The event was action-packed and I tried to spell the words myself on my dad s phone he revealed There was even a comedian to entertain us during the commercial breaks There were spellers at this year s national tournament For winning Zaki earned a cash prize a trophy and a medal reference materials and subscriptions to Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster a News-O-Matic subscription for his school and a contribution that will be directed to the school of his choice Zaki announced he will give half of his prize money to charity according to Scripps News Jiang s flourishing spellings included apistogramma a genus of fish from South America oddment something left over and perpension careful weighing in the mind The word that ended his tournament cassowary the large flightless bird native to northeastern Australia New Guinea and other South Pacific islands He disclosed he felt more prepared for the tournament compared to last year but he was just as nervous His highlight was that he had more fun during the bee week and he made more friends among the other spellers Geremew s path in the competition involved spelling stevedore a job loading and unloading ships at a port and chesterfield a type of overcoat or sofa perfectly He was unable to correctly define cameo Both Jiang and Geremew qualified for the national bee through their respective regional competitions co-hosted by WHYY and Billy Penn and held at WHYY s studio near Independence Mall They will be eligible to compete in next year s Spelling Bee I definitely intend to compete in next year s bee Geremew reported I also intend to spend more time studying for the spelling bee so that I can hopefully make it to the finals and beat my past rankings South Jersey s regional spelling bee champion Isaac Geremew competes at the at the National Spelling Bee in Maryland Courtesy of Anna Phillips Jiang mentioned that he d be back despite his nerves thanks to the encouragement he received from his friends and the past bee champions he met during the week Although I do not like to be on the stage I think I should do it to challenge my limit Jiang stated I enjoyed how I prepared for the spelling bee I not only studied spellings and word meanings but also studied the concept beyond most of words This coming year I think I ll focus on the spelling and word meaning as well as the pattern and roots of words The post Local students overcome words and nerves at th Scripps National Spelling Bee appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY