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SCRIPPS

GUIDE
2012

BEE WEEK

Inside the Guide


Schedule About Our Program How It Works Rules Prizes Statistics Winning Words Spellers and Sponsors Officials and Staff

Table of Contents
Competition Schedule ..................................................1 About Our Program ........................................................2 How Our Spelling Bee Works.......................................3 Rules .....................................................................................4 Twenty Questions (Answered)....................................7 Prizes ....................................................................................9 Statistics ........................................................................... 10 Meet the Spellebrities................................................. 12 Champions and Their Winning Words .................. 13 Spellers and Sponsors ................................................ 14 Leadership and Year-Round Staff ........................... 26 Officials............................................................................. 27 Bee Week Staff ............................................................... 28

What is the origin of the term

spelling bee?

The word bee, as used in spelling bee, is one of those language puzzles that has never been satisfactorily accounted for. A fairly old and widely used word, it refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join together in a single activity (sewing, quilting, barn raising, etc.) usually to help one person or family. The earliest known example in print is a spinning bee, in 1769. Other early occurrences are husking bee (1816), apple bee (1827), and logging bee (1836). Spelling bee is apparently an American term. It first appeared in print in 1875, but it seems certain that the term was used orally for several years before that. Those who used the word, including most early students of language, assumed that it was the same word as referred to the insect. They thought that this particular meaning had probably been inspired by the obvious similarity between these human gatherings and the industrious, social nature of a beehive. But in recent years scholars have rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that this bee is a completely different word. One possibility is that it comes from the Middle English word bene, which means a prayer or a favor (and is related to the more familiar word boon). In England, a dialect form of this word, been or bean, referred to voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task (Websters Third New International Dictionary). Bee may simply be a shortened form of been, but no one is entirely certain.

Competition Schedule
Tuesday, May 29
The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Preliminaries ROUND ONE TEST Times by reservation. Chesapeake Room F

Wednesday, May 30
The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Preliminaries ROUND TWO 8:00 11:45 a.m. Maryland Ballroom

Spellers 1 through 138 spell onstage between 8:00 and 9:45 a.m. Spellers 139 through 278 spell onstage between 10:00 and 11:45 a.m. Live on ESPN3.com ROUND THREE 1:15 5:15 p.m. Maryland Ballroom

Spellers 1 through 138 spell onstage between 1:15 and 3:00 p.m. Spellers 139 through 278 spell onstage between 3:30 and 5:15 p.m. Live on ESPN3.com

Thursday, May 31
The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Semifinals 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Maryland Ballroom Live on ESPN2 Opening remarks and introductions at 9:45 a.m. The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship Finals 8:00 10:00 p.m. Maryland Ballroom Live on ESPN Opening remarks and introductions at 7:45 p.m.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 1

About Our Program


The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nations largest and longest-running educational program. We are administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company in cooperation with local spelling bee sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Schools in Europe; and international sponsors in the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Purpose
Our purpose is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.

Organization H Headquarters
O year-round staff, Our based in Cincinnati, Ohio, ba or organizes r the national finals, pr produces word lists and st study t materials, works with l lo local spelling bee sponsors an and enrolls schools.

classroom, grade, and school level to choose their representative for the next level of competition. Students may further compete in district, county, or regional spelling bees before earning the right to represent their communities at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Students
More than 11 million students participated in this years Scripps National Spelling Bee at one level or another. To prepare, students use study materials created by us and MerriamWebster, using Websters Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster, as our official dictionary. All of the spellers here have advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee by winning a series of spelling bees as outlined by their local spelling bee sponsors. In general terms, the program is open to students who are 15 years old or younger, have not passed beyond eighth grade and attend schools officially enrolled with our program for the current academic year. See page 4 for full eligibility requirements.

Local Spelling Bee Sponsors


Each year we grant a limited number of local spelling bee sponsorships to media organizations, universities, nonprofits and other community leaders. Most local spelling bee sponsors are not owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. In fact, only 13 sponsorships were awarded to Scripps-owned television stations and newspapers. Local sponsors conduct community spelling bee programs, usually in cooperation with teachers and administrators at public, private, parochial, charter, virtual and home schools. The champion of each sponsor's program qualifies for participation in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

History
This is the 85th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The program began in 1925 with nine contestants, and Scripps assumed sponsorship in 1941. During the World War II years of 1943, 1944 and 1945, no National Spelling Bee was held. The bee declared co-champions in 1950, 1957 and 1962. Of the 87 champions, 46 have been girls and 41 have been boys. See page 13 for a complete list of champions and their winning words.

Schools
Every fall, thousands of schools enroll in our program. Throughout the fall and winter, schools conduct spelling bees at the
2 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

How Our Spelling Bee Works


For the complete Contest Rules of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee, please see pages 4-6.

Tuesday, May 29
Round One Test: Throughout the morning.
Round One is a computer-based spelling test taken by all 278 spellers. Scores from the test will be combined with the results of Rounds Two and Three to determine our Semifinalists. At his or her appointed time, each speller will enter the testing room and log in to the secure testing system with a unique user name and password. Access to the testing room during testing hours will be restricted to spellers and Bee staff. Members of the Bee staff will proctor the test. Pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailly will not appear in person at the test. Instead, spellers will hear a recording of Dr. Bailly pronouncing each word, and information about each word (origin, part of speech, definition, sentence) will be displayed on-screen. The test will have no time limit, and spellers will be given multiple opportunities to review their answers and word information prior to submitting their final answers. Spellers will spell 50 words, but only 25 spellings will count toward each spellers Preliminaries score. Bee officials will have chosen these score words prior to May 29, but score word status will not be apparent to the speller. Bee officials will publicly identify score words immediately after Round Three. Each spellers test score will be emailed to his or her parents during Round Three on Wednesday, May 30.

ring the bell. Instead, the pronouncer will offer the correct spelling, and the speller will remain onstage until the conclusion of the round. Immediately after the conclusion of Round Three, the Bee officials will determine the Semifinalists in accordance with Rule 4 in the Contest Rules (see page 5). Each speller will receive 1 point for each score word spelled correctly during the Round One Test and 3 points for each word spelled correctly during Rounds Two and Three, for a maximum possible score of 31. Spellers scoring higher than at least 228 other spellers will advance to the Semifinals. About five minutes after the conclusion of Round Three, the names of the Semifinalists will be announced.

Thursday, May 31
Semifinals: 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. Championship Finals: 8:00 p.m. 10:00 p.m.
During these rounds, spellers compete onstage. In general, a speller is out of the competition once he or she misspells. The head judge will ring a bell after a misspelling, and the pronouncer will then give the correct spelling. Naming the Champion: If only one speller correctly spells his or her word during a round, that speller will be asked to spell another word in a new round. If that word is spelled correctly, that speller will be named champion of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee. If that word is spelled incorrectly, however, all spellers who competed the previous round are back in the competition, and a new round begins. See Rule 12 on page 6 for the full end-of-Bee procedure.

Wednesday, May 30
Round Two: 8:00 a.m. 11:45 a.m. Round Three: 1:15 p.m. 5:15 p.m.
Spellers will spell onstage during Rounds Two and Three. No one will be eliminated during these rounds. If a speller misspells during Rounds Two or Three, the head judge will not

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 3

Contest Rules of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee


1. Eligibility A speller qualifying for the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, DC, area must meet these requirements: (1) The speller must not have won a Scripps National Spelling Bee championship in the Washington, DC, area. (2) The speller must attend a school that is officially enrolled with the Scripps National Spelling Bee. (3) The speller must not have passed beyond the eighth grade on or before February 1, 2012. (4) The speller must not have repeated any grade for the purpose of extending spelling bee eligibility. If the speller has repeated any grade, the speller must notify the Scripps National Spelling Bee of the circumstances of grade repetition by March 28, 2012; and the Scripps National Spelling Bee will, in its sole discretion, determine the spellers eligibility status on or before April 30, 2012. (5) The speller or the spellers parent, legal guardian or school official acting on the spellers behalf must not have declared to another entity an academic classification higher than eighth grade for any purpose, including high school graduation equivalency or proficiency examinations and/or examinations such as the PSAT, SAT or ACT. (6) The speller must not have earned the legal equivalent of a high school diploma. (7) The speller must not have completed nor ever been enrolled in more than six high school-level courses or two college-level courses on or before April 30, 2012. (8) The speller must not bypass or circumvent normal school activity to study for spelling bees. The Scripps National Spelling Bee defines normal school activity as adherence to a at least four courses of study other than language arts, spelling, Latin, Greek, vocabulary and etymology for at least four hours per weekday for 34 of the 38 w weeks between August 29, 2011, a and May 19, 2012. (9) The speller must not have reached his/her 15th birthday on or before August 31, 2011. (10) The speller must have won a final local spelling bee on or after February 1, 2012. (11) The speller must not have been disqualified at any level of a sponsors spelling bee program between June 2011 and April 2012. Further, if the speller becomes disqualified at any level of a sponsors spelling bee program before April 2012, the speller will be disqualified from competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and may not seek advancement in the Bee program through another sponsor and/or enrollment in another school. (12) The speller, upon qualifying for the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, D.C. area, must submit a completed Champion Profile, a Certification of Eligibility Form, a signed Appearance Consent and Release Form and a hard copy of a photo to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The speller will notify the Bee, at least 24 hours prior to the first day of competition in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, DC area, if any of the statements made on the Certification of Eligibility Form are no longer true or require updating. The spellers sponsor will provide access to the necessary forms. The Scripps National Spelling Bee may disqualify, prior to or during competition, any speller who is not in compliance with any of the above Eligibility Requirements; and it may at any time between the conclusion of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee and April 30, 2013 require any speller who is found to have not been in compliance with any of the Eligibility Requirements to forfeit any prizes, rank and other benefits accorded to the speller as a result of participation in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee. 2. Format The competition has three distinct segments: Preliminaries, Semifinals and Championship Finals. The Preliminaries consist of a test delivered by computer (Round One Test) and two rounds of oral spelling onstage (Rounds Two and Three). Spellers must complete the Round One Test in the Bee-designated testing area between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29. In the Round One Test, a speller will spell 50 words using a computer keyboard. Only 25 of the 50 spellings will count toward the spellers Preliminaries score. The 25 words that count toward a spellers Preliminaries score will be labeled score words by Bee officials prior to May 29, but score word status will not be apparent to a speller taking the Round One Test. Bee officials will publicly identify score words following the conclusion of the Preliminaries on Wednesday, May 30.

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The Semifinals consist of rounds of oral spelling and will likely be concurrent with the competitions live daytime broadcast on ESPN2 on Thursday, May 31. If the ESPN2 broadcast concludes while a Semifinals round is in progress, spellers who have not spelled in the round will advance to the Championship Finals broadcast on ESPN for the conclusion of the Semifinals round. The Championship Finals consist of rounds of oral spelling and are concurrent with the competitions live primetime broadcast on ESPN on Thursday, May 31, unless the ESPN broadcast begins in a round that began during the Semifinals. The Championship Finals will not officially commence until the last Semifinals round has concluded, and prizes will be awarded accordingly. For all rounds except Round One, all spellers who have not been eliminated from the competition spell one word in each round. 3. Official dictionary and source of words Websters Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster, (Websters Third) is the final authority for the spelling of words. All words given in competition are entries in Websters Third. If more than one spelling is listed for a word that the pronouncer has provided for the speller to spell, any of these spellings will be accepted as correct if all of the following three criteria are met: (1) the pronunciations of the words are identical, (2) the definitions of the words are identical, and (3) the words are clearly identified as being standard variants of each other. Spellings at other locations having temporal labels (such as archaic, obsolete), stylistic labels (such as substand, nonstand) or regional labels (such as North, Midland, Irish) which differ from main entry spellings not having these status labels will not be accepted as correct. 4. Eliminations before the Semifinals In the Preliminaries there are no eliminations. Instead, spellers receive one point for each score word spelled correctly on the Round One Test. In the oral spelling segment of the Preliminaries, Rounds Two and Three, spellers receive three points for correct spellings and zero points for incorrect spellings. The potential maximum combined score that a speller may achieve for spelling in the Preliminaries is 31. Maximum of 50: Immediately after the Preliminaries a maximum of 50 standard is applied to spellers scores accrued during the Preliminaries. Spellers scores are plotted on a chart. Beginning at 31 on the chart, spellers at each consecutive scoring level are added until a sum of no more than 50 spellers has been attained. All remaining spellers are eliminated. All spellers eliminated prior to the Semifinals are tied for the same place.

5. Eliminations due to misspelling during Preliminaries, Semifinals and Championship Finals Upon incorrectly spelling a word during the oral portion of the Preliminaries, the speller remains in the competition. Upon incorrectly spelling a word during the Semifinals and Championship Finals, the speller is eliminated from the competition, except as provided in Rule 12. All spellers eliminated in the same round are tied for the same place. 6. Progression of competition At the beginning of any round in which either two or three spellers remain, the pronouncer will move to the 25-word championship section of the word list. If a champion does not emerge in the course of administering these final 25 words, the remaining spellers will be declared co-champions. In the event that a round beginning with more than either two or three spellers ends with only one speller to begin the next and perhaps final round, the pronouncer will not move to the championship section at that point in the competition. 7. Time constraints The spellers time at the microphone has a limit of 2 minutes. Time begins when the pronouncer first pronounces the word. For the first 1 minute and 15 seconds, the speller will have the benefit of viewing a monitor displaying a traffic light graphic in green light mode. After 1 minute and 15 seconds, the monitor will show the traffic light graphic in yellow light mode and will also show the time clock as it counts down to the 30-second mark. At the 30-second mark, the monitor will show the traffic light graphic in red light mode and will also show a countdown of the remaining 30 seconds. The judges and pronouncer will not communicate with the speller during the final 30 seconds (red light mode). The judges will disqualify any speller who does not provide a complete spelling before the expiration of time (0 seconds in red light mode). If the judges and pronouncer need to discuss a competition-related matter while a speller is contemplating a word, they may pause the time clock. If they pause the time clock, they will inform the speller when they pause and resume the time clock. 8. Special needs The Scripps National Spelling Bee strives to provide accommodation for spellers who have physical challenges. All requests for accommodation of special needs involving sight, hearing, speech or movement should be directed in writing to the director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee before April 30, 2012. The judges have discretionary power to amend spelling requirements on a case-by-case basis for spellers with diagnosed medical conditions involving sight, hearing, speech or movement.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 5

Continued from previous page. 9. Pronouncers role The pronouncer strives to pronounce words according to the diacritical markings in Websters Third. Homonyms: If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer indicates which word is to be spelled by defining the word. Spellers requests: In oral competition the pronouncer responds to the spellers requests for a definition, sentence, part of speech, language(s) of origin and alternate pronunciation(s). When presented with requests for alternate pronunciations, the pronouncer or associate pronouncer checks for alternate pronunciations in Websters Third. If the speller wishes to ask if the dictionary lists a specific root word as the root of the word to be spelled, the speller must specify a pronunciation of the root (not a spelling), its language and its definition. The pronouncer will grant all such requests as long as they are in accordance with time constraints outlined in Rule 7. Pronouncers sense of helpfulness: The pronouncer may offer word information without the speller having requested the information if the pronouncer senses that the information is helpful and the information appears in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee word list or Websters Third. 10. Judges role The judges uphold the rules and determine whether or not words are spelled correctly. The decisions of the judges are final. Interaction with the speller: Because seeing lip movements may be critical in detecting misunderstandings or misspellings, the judges encourage spellers to face them when pronouncing and spelling the word. Misunderstandings: The judges participate in the exchange of information between the speller and pronouncer if they feel that clarification is needed. Also, the judges listen carefully to the spellers pronunciation of the word; and, if they sense that the speller has misunderstood the word, the judges work with the speller and pronouncer until they are satisfied that reasonable attempts have been made to assist the speller in understanding the word within the time constraints described in Rule 7. While the judges are responsible for attempting to detect a spellers misunderstanding, it is sometimes impossible to detect a misunderstanding until a spelling error has been made. The judges are not responsible for the spellers misunderstanding. Pronouncer errors: The judges compare the pronouncers pronunciation with the diacritical markings in the word list. If the judges feel that the pronouncers pronunciation does not match the pronunciation specified in the diacritical markings, the judges will direct the pronouncer to correct the error as soon as it is detected.
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Disqualifications for reasons other than clear misspelling: The judges will disqualify a speller (1) who refuses a request to start spelling; (2) who does not approach the microphone when it is time to receive the word; (3) who engages in unsportsmanlike conduct; (4) who, in the process of retracing a spelling, alters the letters or sequence of letters from those first uttered; or (5) who, in the process of spelling, utters unintelligible or nonsense sounds. Speller activities that do not merit disqualification: The judges may not disqualify a speller (1) for failing to pronounce the word either before or after spelling it, (2) for asking a question, or (3) for noting or failing to note the capitalization of a word or the presence of a diacritical mark. 11. Spellers role The speller makes an effort to face the judges and pronounce the word for the judges before spelling it and after spelling it. The speller while facing the judges makes an effort to utter each letter distinctly and with sufficient volume to be understood by the judges. The speller may ask the pronouncer to say the word again, define it, use it in a sentence, provide the part of speech, provide the language(s) of origin and/or provide an alternate pronunciation or pronunciations. The speller may also ask root word questions that meet the specifications delineated in Rule 9. Misunderstandings: The speller is responsible for any misunderstanding of the word unless (1) the pronouncer never provided a correct pronunciation; (2) the pronouncer provided incorrect information regarding the definition, part of speech, or language of origin; or (3) the speller correctly spelled a homonym of the word and the pronouncer failed to either offer a definition or distinguish the homonyms. 12. End-of-bee procedure If all spellers in a round misspell: If none of the spellers remaining in the spelling bee at the start of a round spells a word correctly during that round, all remain in the competition and a new round begins. If only one speller in a round spells correctly: If only one speller spells correctly in a round, a new one-word round begins and the speller is given an opportunity to spell the next word on the list (anticipated winning word). If the speller succeeds in correctly spelling the anticipated winning word in this one-word round, the speller is declared the champion. If a speller misspells the anticipated winning word in a oneword round: A new round begins with all the spellers who spelled (correctly and incorrectly) in the previous round. These spellers spell in their original order.

Twenty Questions (Answered)


1. Didnt she spell that word correctly? Thats how my dictionary spells it. She didnt spell the word the way its spelled in the Bees official dictionary, Websters Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, MerriamWebster (Websters Third). Bee rules state that Websters Third is the final authority for the spelling of words. 2. Where does Dr. Bailly get these words? The individuals Bee officials and special contributors who collaborate to produce the word list find the words in the course of going about their lives, reading books and traveling. Then they confirm the words presence in Websters Third. Occasionally, we hear theories that the Bee recycles words from previous lists or creates special themes for its word lists. Lets just say that we find these theories amusing. 3. Dr. Bailly mispronounced the word. What can be done? What Dr. Bailly did was pronounce the word according to the diacritical markings in Websters Third. Diacritical markings are symbols such as e , and that you see in a dictionary. If he didnt pronounce it the way you expected it to be pronounced, its because your pronunciation wasnt in the dictionary, and the pronouncer is bound by the rules to pronounce only what is listed in the dictionary. Its also important to note that the legion of Bee officials in the front of the ballroom closely listen to Dr. Bailly and immediately alert him to make an onthe-spot correction in the unlikely event of an error. Heres what you can do: Contact Merriam-Webster, publisher of the Bees official dictionary and ask for one of its editors to research your pronunciation. Its possible that Merriam-Webster will decide to include your pronunciation in its next edition of the dictionary. 4. Why does the Bee ask so many foreign words? Most words in the English language are words that we borrowed from other languages. We borrowed them, used them and now call them our own. 5. What happens when a speller misspells? If the speller misspells during the Preliminaries, the judges bell will not ring, and the speller will return to his seat. If the speller misspells during the Semifinals or Championship Finals, the judges bell will ring, and the pronouncer will offer the correct spelling. 6. What happens if the speller correctly spells a homonym of the word? The speller is out of luck unless Dr. Bailly failed to say that the word was a homonym or did not provide a definition of the word. 7. Why is there a time limit? Before there was a time limit, a few spellers liked to hang out at the microphone often in silence for 510 minutes. It was exhausting and unnerving for other spellers as well as the audience. We instituted a time limit several years ago, and the competitions ever since have moved along at a pace that doesnt make the waiting spellers uncomfortable. 8. Why does the pronouncer give a lot of information to some spellers and very little information to others? Some words have multiple pronunciations, long definitions and complex origins. Other words have only one pronunciation and a brief definition. Heres the interesting part: There is no correlation between the volume of information and the spelling difficulty level. Also, some spellers dont ask for information, while others ask multiple questions. The rules give Dr. Bailly discretion to offer information (as long as its in the word list or Websters Third) if he feels that it would be helpful to the speller, or if he has a sentence that he thinks is funny. 9. What if the speller doesnt understand the word? The rules say its the spellers responsibility to understand the word. If he doesnt understand the word, misspelling is likely. Bee officials are not mind readers. They are not aware of a problem unless the speller: 1) says I dont understand; 2) distinctly mispronounces the word while facing the judges; or 3) delivers an Oscar-worthy interpretation of confusion.

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Continued from previous page. If the officials detect a lack of understanding, they will do all that they can within the limits of the rules to help the speller achieve an understanding of the word. 10. How does a speller qualify for the Semifinals? He qualifies for the Semifinals if his Preliminaries point total is higher than the point totals of at least 228 other spellers. A Preliminaries point total is something that each speller has as a result of participation in Rounds One through Three. A speller earns 1 point for each score word spelled correctly on the Round One Test, 3 points for spelling correctly in Round Two and 3 points for spelling correctly in Round Three. 11. How many spellers will qualify for the Semifinals? The exact number is not predetermined but, thanks to the rules, we can ballpark it for you: no more than 50. 12. What score does a speller need on the Round One Test in order to have a chance of qualifying for the Semifinals? We dont know because the rules base Semifinals qualification not on a pre-set Round One Test score, but instead on being one of the highest scorers in the Preliminaries (Rounds One through Three). We dont know who the highest scorers are in the Preliminaries until the Preliminaries conclude at the end of Round Three. Its possible that you may hear some people throw around numbers and declare that a certain score is needed. Keep in mind that all theyre doing is guessing based on information from other Bees. This Bee is different: different spellers, different words and a different array of Round One Test scores and Preliminaries point totals. 13. How does a speller qualify for the Championship Finals? A speller is a Championship Finalist if she spells correctly in the round in which the ESPN Semifinals broadcast concludes. 14. How many spellers will qualify for the Championship Finals? The exact number is not predetermined, but the ideal number of spellers for the Championship Finals time frame is 10 to 15. 15. What happens if every speller in a round misspells? Each speller who misspelled in the round is reinstated to the competition. A new round begins, and they spell in their original order.
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16. How many rounds will there be? We simply dont know. It all depends on how many spellers are going to misspell in each round. 17. What happens if Dr. Bailly runs out of words? When only two or three spellers remain to begin a round, Bee rules state that the officials must move to a special 25-word section of the list. If a champion does not emerge in the course of giving those 25 words, Bee officials will declare the remaining spellers co-champions. 18. Why at the end of the Bee do the screens count down from 25 after each speller spells? What happens if it reaches zero? The screens countdown from 25 to indicate that the pronouncer is offering words from the 25word Championship Words section of the list. If a champion is not determined in the course of administering these final 25 words, co-champions will be declared. 19. Why didnt the champion have to correct the spelling of the other speller onstage? The rule about correcting the other spellers spelling went away in 1991. Now, in order to be declared champion, you must be the only speller to spell correctly in a round; plus, in the next round a one-word, one-person round you must spell correctly. 20. When will the spellers ever see or use these words again? Maybe never. And thats fine by us. Why? Because the spellers you see onstage are the crme de la crme the best from a field of more than 11 million students. Of course we have to give these brilliant kids such difficult words! What really matters are the hundreds of important, useful words that they and the 11 million others learned and spelled prior to this competition words they will definitely see and use again such as philanthropy, imperative, amenable and serendipity. As for those incredibly difficult words, theyre out there in great works of literature, guide books, high school and college textbooks and other great places and were proud to put the spotlight on these rare and important gems of the English language. 2011 Bee champion Sukanya Roy may not ever have occasion to use her national winning word, cymotrichous, though her winning word from her final local bee, apparatchik, may come in handy for her planned career in international relations.

Prizes
For the Champion: From Scripps: a $30,000 cash prize and an engraved trophy From Merriam-Webster: a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and a complete reference library From Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation: a $5,000 scholarship From Encyclopdia Britannica: $2,600 of reference works, including the Final Print Edition of the Encyclopdia Britannica, and a lifetime membership to Britannica Online Premium From Middlebury Interactive Languages: an online language course and a Nook Color For the Champions School and Sponsor: From Scripps: engraved plaques For the Championship Finalists: From Encyclopdia Britannica: 2012 Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD-ROM From Merriam-Webster: Websters Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, on CD-ROM From Mr. Jay Sugarman: The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award a 2012 United States Mint Proof Set and Award Certificate presented by Mr. Sugarman in honor of his father For All Spellers: From Scripps: Participated only in the Preliminaries: $100 VISA gift card Participated in the Semifinals but not the Championship Finals: $500 VISA gift card Misspelled in the first round of the championship finals to seventh place: $1,500 Sixth Place: $2,000 Fifth Place: $2,500 Fourth Place: $3,000 Third Place: $7,500 Second Place: $12,500 First Place: $30,000

Spellers who are eliminated from the competition in the same round are assigned the same rank (place). If Bee officials declare co-champions, each co-champion will receive a $30,000 first place cash prize. Cash prizes for championship finalist spellers who are tied for places other than first place will be determined in accordance with the method described in this example: If three spellers are tied for fourth place, the cash prize for these three spellers will be determined by adding the prize amounts for fourth, fifth and sixth place and dividing by three (the number of spellers tied for fourth place).

middlebury
interactive languages
TM

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 9

Statistics: This Year


School Type Public Private Home Parochial Charter Total 193 39 28 16 2 Percent 69.4% 14.0% 10.1% 5.8% 0.7% Age 6 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Total 1 2 1 13 26 69 96 67 3 Percent 0.4% 0.7% 0.4% 4.7% 9.4% 24.8% 34.5% 24.1% 1.1%

Number of Spellers: 278

Five spellers have a fraternal twin, and one speller, 101 Nat Jordan, has an identical twin.

48.9% 51.1%
142 Girls

136 Boys

Siblings
Forty-one spellers are onl only children. The remaining 237 spellers have 232 sisters 23 and a d 215 brothers among them. an Speller 89 Gifton Wright S has 10 brothers and sisters.

Grade Level Total Percent 2 1 0.4% 3 2 0.7% 4 3 1.1% 5 24 8.6% 6 43 15.5% 7 94 33.8% 8 111 39.9%

Family Ties
Twenty spellers have at least one relative (brother, sister, uncle, cousin) who has competed in previous national finals. They are spellers 4, 10, 27, 46, 53, 56, 92, 98, 101, 133, 154, 172, 194, 204, 243, 244, 263, 268, 272 and 273.

Five-Year Repeaters 31 Rahul R. Malayappan 193 Nicholas B. Rushlow Four-Year Repeaters 49 Rachael Cundey 79 Gina Solomito 94 Emily Keaton 227 Jiwon Seo Three-Year Repeaters 40 Grace Remmer 83 Andie Marie Reidy 91 Clara K. Wicoff 113 Amber Born 121 Mitchell Lange 127 Kavyapranati Pratapa 130 Antony Joseph 136 Jordan Gabriella Hoffman 155 Nabeel Rahman 162 Arvind V. Mahankali 185 Sunny Levine 237 Chetan Reddy 238 Abigail Violet Spitzer 268 Samuel George Estep

Two-Year Repeaters 1 Kevin Lazenby 3 David R. Jones 11 Apolonia Gardner 16 Jack Maglalang 17 Dylan Bird 19 Snigdha Nandipati 34 Sairah A. Sheikh 35 Pranay Choudary Malempati 37 Anuk Kavan Dayaprema 42 Vaidya Govindarajan 44 Stuti Mishra 47 Ann Marie Brown 56 Ian T. Wendt 58 Simon Ricci 60 Marlene Santora 62 Lucas Michael Urbanski 63 Yasir Hasnain 66 Pranav Sivakumar 72 Parker Elizabeth Carls 75 Star Han 81 Casey Hennings 84 Margaret Flaherty Peterson 85 Sabin Karki 86 Katie Kirk 92 Vanya Shivashankar 97 Caleb Miller

105 112 131 135 140 156 158 179 181 194 198 208 213 224 239 241 244 246 248 252 254 263 266 267 272 278

Jack Nolan Katie Hudek Roshini Shreya Asirvatham Jacob L. Longmeyer Grant Pace Sruti Akula Adam Ferrari Hunter Randolph Isabella Mayo LeeAnn Mekkattukulam Jose Dharani Kotekal Naomi W. Li Lena Greenberg Isabella Mika Neubauer Mark De Los Santos Sivateja Tangirala Thomas Rubio Clancy Dean Carter Pauline Negrete Jared Ward Vismaya Jui Kharkar Caroline Ellissa Willett Shayley Grace Martin Victoria Alexandra Whited Elizabeth Koh Zachary Chau Doiron

10 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Statistics: Previous Years


Ranked 1st Sukanya Roy Times Leader Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Ranked 2nd Laura Newcombe National Post Toronto, Ontario Ranked 3rd (tie) Arvind Mahankali Daily News New York, New York*
Year 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991

The Past Two Decades


Spellers Rounds 275 20 273 9 293 16 288 16 286 13 274 20 273 19 265 15 251 15 250 11 248 16 248 15 249 12 249 11 245 23 247 13 247 11 238 15 235 16 227 16 227 25

by the Numbers
Words 767 683 760 603 638 628 658 567 552 480 766 839 803 733 898 799 835 968 963 952 880 Repeaters 71 56 69 57 56 66 69 59 54 54 52 51 47 43 49 43 45 41 43 46 41

Top Finishers of 2011

Ranked 5th Dakota Jones Las Vegas Review-Journal Las Vegas, Nevada

Ranked 3rd (tie) Joanna Ye WITF: Public Media for Central Pennsylvania Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Ranked 6th: Veronica Penny, National Post, Toronto, Ontario Canada Dhivya Senthil Murugan, The Denver Post, Denver, Colorado Sriram Hathwar, The Leader, Corning, New York Mashad Arora, Valley Freedom Newspapers, Harlingen, Texas Ranked 10th: Lily Jordan, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine Nabeel Rahman, The Buffalo News, Buffalo, New York* Prakash Mishra, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina Ranked 13th: Samuel Estep, The Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, Virginia* Ranked 14th: David Phan, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colorado Grace Remmer, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida* Nicholas Rushlow, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Lancaster, Ohio* Anahita Iyer, Pennridge Community Education Foundation, Perkasie, Pennsylvania Narahari Bharadwaj, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas Ranked 19th: Claire Zuo, The Miami Herald, Miami, Herald Stuti Mishra, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida* Surjo Bandyopadhyay, The Recorder, Prince Frederick, Maryland Siddharth Varanasi, The Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan

Anja Beth Swoap, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P, Minneapolis, Minnesota Connor Gunsbury, National Joint Powers Alliance, Staples, Minnesota Jenny Solheim, Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, Nebraska Parker Dietry, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin Ranked 27th: Snigdha Nandipati, The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, California* Pranav Sivakumar, Lake County Regional Office of Education, Grayslake, Illinois* Gina Solomito, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana* Hanif Brown, Jr., Jamaica Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica Surabhi Iyer, Comcast, Taunton, Massachusetts Ray Wang, Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune, Neptune, New Jersey Tony Incorvati, The Repository, Canton, Ohio Chetan Reddy, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas* Anna-Marie Sprenger, Daily Herald, Provo, Utah Ranked 36th: Emily Keaton, Kentucky Spelling Bee Collaborative, Louisville, Kentucky* Sam Osheroff, Howard County Library, Columbia, Maryland Sunny Levine, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio* Parker Strubhar, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Katie Fo, Portland Tribune, Portland, Oregon David Krak, Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
*

Competing in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 11

Meet the Spellebrities


spellebrity
Favorite Movies The Harry Potter series The Hunger Games Akeelah and the Bee The Star Wars series The Lord of the Rings series

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

noun : a person renowned for the ability to spell difcult words under pressure, bright lights and the adoring gaze of millions.

Favorite School Subjects 1. Math 2. English and Language Arts 3. Science 4. History 5. Social Studies

Ask for my autograph, because Im a

This years competitors are all great spellers, but thats Favorite Foods not all they do! Here is a brief look into the interests and Favorite Novels 1. Pizza accomplishments of the students competing to become 1. Suzanne Collinss 2. Pasta the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. Hunger Games trilogy 3. Steak 2. J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter series 4. Sushi Favorite Sports Musical 3. Rick Riordans Percy Jackson and 5. Ice cream Instruments Played 1. Soccer the Olympians series 1. Piano 2. Basketball 4. Christopher Paolinis 2. Violin 3. Tennis Inheritance Cycle 3. Guitar 4. Swimming 5. J. R. R. Tolkiens The Lord 4. Clarinet 5. Baseball of the Rings trilogy 5. Saxophone Speller 8 Paloma M. Cartwright For the past three years, Paloma has been named top female Optimist sailor under the age of 16 in the Bahamas. Speller 12 Nickan Fayyazi Nickan enjoys snowboarding and playing tennis, but his favorite sport is skiing. He received two silver medals in a NASTAR ski race and went skiing 24 times this past winter. Speller 69 Sophie Bergman Sophie founded and runs a nonprofit organization called Books to Charity, which donates books to impoverished children around the world. Speller 82 Ross M. DeLong Ross participates in childrens choir and musical theater; he performed as Tiny Tim in the Indiana Public Radio production of A Christmas Carol.
12 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Languages Spoken English is not the first language of 27 spellers. Overall, 107 spellers speak or study a language other than English, including Spanish, French, Latin, Hindi, Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew and Korean. There are 38 different languages represented among our spellers.

Speller 99 Venkatesh Sivaraman Venkat has published two iPhone apps a graphing calculator and a study aid for geology and is currently working on an app for his middle school. Speller 136 Jordan Hoffman This past fall, Jordan wrote an a cappella choral composition, Eclogue de Noel, which the Lees Summit (Missouri) Youth Chorale performed throughout the year. Speller 199 Spencer Lee Hipsher Spencer has twice gone on service trips to Appalachia, and he would like to become a doctor. Speller 250 Ruth O. Anwasi During her middle schools Pi Week celebration, Ruth was crowned the Pi-Queen and won the Pi memorization, Pi-Ku and Pi-Art awards.

Champions and Their Winning Words


1925: gladiolus Frank Neuhauser Louisville CourierJournal Louisville, Kentucky 1926: cerise Pauline Bell Louisville CourierJournal Louisville, Kentucky 1927: luxuriance Dean Lucas Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio 1928: albumen Betty Robinson South Bend NewsTribune South Bend, Indiana 1929: asceticism Virginia Hogan The Omaha WorldHerald Omaha, Nebraska 1930: fracas Helen Jensen Des Moines Register & Tribune Des Moines, Iowa 1931: foulard Ward Randall White Hall RegisterRepublican White Hall, Illinois 1932: knack Dorothy Greenwalk Des Moines Register & Tribune Des Moines, Iowa 1933: torsion Alma Roach Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio 1934: deteriorating Sarah Wilson Portland Evening Press Portland, Maine 1935: intelligible Clara Mohler Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio 1936: interning Jean Trowbridge Des Moines Register & Tribune Des Moines, Iowa 1937: promiscuous Waneeta Beckley Louisville CourierJournal Louisville, Kentucky 1938: sanitarium Marian Richardson Louisville Times Louisville, Kentucky 1939: canonical Elizabeth Ann Rice Worcester Telegram & Gazette Worcester, Massachusetts 1940: therapy Laurel Kuykendall The Knoxville News Sentinel Knoxville, Tennessee 1941: initials Louis Edward Sissman Detroit News Detroit, Michigan 1942: sacrilegious Richard Earnhart El Paso Herald-Post El Paso, Texas 1946: semaphore John McKinney Des Moines Register & Tribune Des Moines, Iowa 1947: chlorophyll Mattie Lou Pollard Atlanta Journal Atlanta, Georgia 1948: psychiatry Jean Chappelear Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio 1949: dulcimer Kim Calvin Canton Repository Canton, Ohio 1950: meticulosity Diana Reynard Cleveland Press Cleveland, Ohio and Colquitt Dean Atlanta Journal Atlanta, Georgia 1951: insouciant Irving Belz Memphis Press Scimitar Memphis, Tennessee 1952: vignette Doris Ann Hall Winston-Salem Journal Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1953: soubrette Elizabeth Hess Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona 1954: transept William Cashore Norristown Times Herald, Norristown, Pennsylvania 1955: crustaceology Sandra Sloss St. Louis GlobeDemocrat St. Louis, Missouri 1956: condominium Melody Sachko The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1957: schappe Sandra Owen Canton Repository Canton, Ohio and Dana Bennett Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 1958: syllepsis Jolitta Schlehuber Topeka Daily Capital Topeka, Kansas 1959: catamaran Joel Montgomery Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 1960: eudaemonic Henry Feldman The Knoxville News Sentinel Knoxville, Tennessee 1961: smaragdine John Capehart Tulsa Tribune Tulsa, Oklahoma 1962: esquamulose Nettie Crawford El Paso Herald-Post El Paso, Texas and Michael Day St. Louis GlobeDemocrat St. Louis, Missouri 1963: equipage Glen Van Slyke III The Knoxville News Sentinel Knoxville, Tennessee 1964: sycophant William Kerek Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio 1965: eczema Michael Kerpan, Jr. Tulsa Tribune Tulsa, Oklahoma 1966: ratoon Robert A. Wake Houston Chronicle Houston, Texas 1967: Chihuahua Jennifer Reinke The Omaha WorldHerald Omaha, Nebraska 1968: abalone Robert L. Walters The Topeka Daily Capital Topeka, Kansas 1969: interlocutory Susan Yoachum Dallas Morning News Dallas, Texas 1970: croissant Libby Childress Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel Winston-Salem, North Carolina 1971: shalloon Jonathan Knisely Philadelphia Bulletin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1972: macerate Robin Kral Lubbock AvalancheJournal Lubbock, Texas 1973: vouchsafe Barrie Trinkle Fort Worth Press Fort Worth, Texas 1974: hydrophyte Julie Anne Junkin Birmingham Post-Herald Birmingham, Alabama 1975: incisor Hugh Tosteson San Juan Star San Juan, Puerto Rico 1976: narcolepsy Tim Kneale Syracuse Herald Journal-American Syracuse, New York 1977: cambist John Paola The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1978: deification Peg McCarthy The Topeka CapitalJournal Topeka, Kansas 1979: maculature Katie Kerwin Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 1980: elucubrate Jacques Bailly Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 1981: sarcophagus Paige Pipkin El Paso Herald-Post El Paso, Texas 1982: psoriasis Molly Dieveney Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 1983: Purim Blake Giddens El Paso Herald-Post El Paso, Texas 1984: luge Daniel Greenblatt Loudoun Times-Mirror Leesburg, Virginia 1985: milieu Balu Natarajan Chicago Tribune Chicago, Illinois 1986: odontalgia Jon Pennington The Patriot News Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 1987: staphylococci Stephanie Petit The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1988: elegiacal Rageshree Ramachandran The Sacramento Bee Sacramento, California 1989: spoliator Scott Isaacs Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 1990: fibranne Amy Marie Dimak The Seattle Times Seattle, Washington 1991: antipyretic Joanne Lagatta The Wisconsin State Journal Madison, Wisconsin 1992: lyceum Amanda Goad The Richmond News Leader Richmond, Virginia 1993: kamikaze Geoff Hooper The Commercial Appeal Memphis, Tennessee 1994: antediluvian Ned G. Andrews The Knoxville News Sentinel Knoxville, Tennessee 1995: xanthosis Justin Tyler Carroll The Commercial Appeal Memphis, Tennessee 1996: vivisepulture Wendy Guey The Palm Beach Post West Palm Beach, Florida 1997: euonym Rebecca Sealfon Daily News New York, New York 1998: chiaroscurist Jody-Anne Maxwell Phillips & Phillips Stationery Suppliers Kingston, Jamaica 1999: logorrhea Nupur Lala The Tampa Tribune Tampa, Florida 2000: demarche George Abraham Thampy St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, Missouri 2001: succedaneum Sean Conley Aitkin Independent Age Aitkin, Minnesota 2002: prospicience Pratyush Buddiga Rocky Mountain News Denver, Colorado 2003: pococurante Sai R. Gunturi The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas 2004: autochthonous David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh South Bend Tribune South Bend, Indiana 2005: appoggiatura Anurag Kashyap San Diego UnionTribune San Diego, California 2006: Ursprache Katharine Close Asbury Park Press/ Home News Tribune Asbury Park, New Jersey 2007: serrefine Evan M. ODorney Contra Costa Times Walnut Creek, California 2008: guerdon Sameer Mishra Journal and Courier Lafayette, Indiana 2009: Laodicean Kavya Shivashankar The Olathe News Olathe, Kansas 2010: stromuhr Anamika Veeramani The Plain Dealer Cleveland, Ohio 2011: cymotrichous Sukanya Roy Times Leader Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 13

Spellers and Sponsors


Alabama 1 Kevin Lazenby of Opelika is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Opelika Middle School. His sponsor is Adventure Travel (Birmingham). Arkansas 7 Trevor Paulsen of Harrisburg is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Harrisburg Middle School. His sponsor is the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock). 14 Patrizzia Constanza Fox-Beaudet of Cottonwood is a 10-yearold fifth grader at Pacheco Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Record Searchlight (Redding). 15 Shruti Amin of Murrieta is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Thompson Middle School. Her sponsor is The PressEnterprise (Riverside). 16 Jack Maglalang of Orangevale is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Pershing Elementary School. His sponsor is The Sacramento Bee. 17 Dylan Bird of Pebble Beach is a home-schooled 13-year-old eighth grader. His sponsor is the Monterey County Office of Education (Salinas). 18 Isabel J. Cholbi of San Bernardino is a 10-year-old sixth grader at Kimbark Elementary School. Her sponsor is the San Bernardino Spelling Bee Collaborative. 19 Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Francis Parker School. Her sponsor is U-T San Diego. 20 Siddharth Kulkarni of San Jose is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Chaboya Middle School. His sponsor is the San Francisco Chronicle. 21 Sam T.E. Nitz of Costa Mesa is a 13-yearold seventh grader at The Pegasus School. His sponsor is The Orange County Register.

Alaska 2 Taia Fagerstrom of Wasilla is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Teeland Middle School. Her sponsor is the Anchorage Daily News. 3 David R. Jones of Fairbanks is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Chugach Extension School. His sponsor is the Daily NewsMiner (Fairbanks).

The Bahamas 8 Paloma M. Cartwright of Deadmans Cay is a 12-year-old seventh grader at N.G.M. Major High School. Her sponsor is The Nassau Guardian.

California 9 Lerick B. Gordon of Fort Irwin is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Fort Irwin Middle School. His sponsor is the Desert Dispatch (Barstow). 10 Brian Jeffers of Camarillo is a 13-yearold eighth grader at Las Colinas Middle School. His sponsor is the Ventura County Star (Camarillo). 11 Apolonia Gardner of Imperial is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Frank Wright Middle School. Her sponsor is the Imperial Valley Press (El Centro). 12 Nickan Fayyazi of Woodland Hills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Portola Highly Gifted Magnet Center. His sponsor is the Los Angeles Spelling Bee Collaborative. 13 Justin K. Chuang of Diamond Bar is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Chaparral Middle School. His sponsor is the Friends of the Diamond Bar Library (Pomona).

American Samoa 4 Rita Shania Jennings of Pago Pago is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Laulii Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Samoa News.

Arizona 5 Sumaita Mulk of Goodyear is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy. Her sponsor is the Arizona Educational Foundation. 6 Aarish Raza of Chinle is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Chinle Junior High School. His sponsor is the Navajo Times Publishing Company (Window Rock).

14 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

22 Alex Howe of Victorville is a 9-year-old third grader at The Academy of Performing Arts and Foreign Language. His sponsor is the Daily Press (Victorville). 23 Bridget Kathleen Byerlee of Visalia is a 13-year-old seventh grader at George McCann Memorial Catholic School. Her sponsor is the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. 24 Nick Lambert of Concord is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Pleasant Hill Middle School. His sponsor is the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek).

30 Frank Cahill of Parker is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Ave Maria Catholic School. His sponsor is The Denver Post.

Europe 37 Anuk Kavan Dayaprema of Vicenza, Italy, is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Vicenza U.S. Department of Defense Middle School. His sponsor is the European PTA.

Connecticut 31 Rahul R. Malayappan of Danbury is a 12-yearold eighth grader at Broadview Middle School. His sponsor is Hearst Connecticut Media Group (Danbury). 32 Kitty Shortt of Clinton is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Abraham Pierson Elementary School. Her sponsor is the New Haven Register. 33 Lily Wang of Oakdale is a 10-year-old fifth grader at Oakdale Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Norwich Bulletin. 34 Sairah A. Sheikh of South Windsor is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Timothy Edwards Middle School. Her sponsor is the South Windsor Community Foundation.

Florida 38 Kriyana Reddy of Winter Haven is a 13-yearold eighth grader at All Saints Academy. Her sponsor is the Polk County School District Collaborative (Bartow). 39 Kayla Sheffield of Fort Myers is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School. Her sponsor is The Daily News (Bonita Springs). 40 Grace Remmer of St. Augustine is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville). 41 Princeton Salvatore Ballarino of Naples is a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Naples Middle School. His sponsor is The Naples Daily News. 42 Vaidya Govindarajan of Miami is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Herbert A. Ammons Middle School. His sponsor is The Miami Herald. 43 Christal Schermeister of Pembroke Pines is a home-schooled 12-yearold seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Miami Herald. 44 Stuti Mishra of West Melbourne is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy. Her sponsor is the Orlando Sentinel.

Canada 25 Jennifer Mong of St. Johns, Newfoundland, is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Macdonald Drive Junior High. Her sponsor is The Telegram (St. Johns). 26 Zhongtian Wang of Windsor, Ontario, is an 11-year-old sixth grader at cole Monseigneur Jean Noel. Her sponsor is The Windsor Star. 27 Mignon Tsai of Abbotsford, British Columbia, is a 12-yearold seventh grader at Chief Dan George Middle School. Her sponsor is The Vancouver Sun.

Delaware 35 Pranay Choudary Malempati of Newark is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Alfred G. Waters Middle School. His sponsor is the Delaware Spelling Bee Collaborative.

China 28 Katharine S. Wang of Beijing is a 10-year-old fifth grader at QooCo School. Her sponsor is the Community Center Shanghai. District of Columbia 36 Tuli Jahan BennettBose of Washington is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. Her sponsor is The Washington Informer.

Colorado 29 Eva Kitlen of Niwot is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Sunset Middle School. Her sponsor is Barnes & Noble (Boulder).

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 15

Guam

Spellers and Sponsors


Continued

45 Nikitha Chandran of Valrico is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Brandon Academy. Her sponsor is the Tampa Bay Spelling Bee Collaborative. 46 Yusra Hashmi of Vero Beach is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Gifford Middle School. Her sponsor is the Treasure Coast Newspapers (Stuart). 47 Ann Marie Brown of Hosford is a 14-year-old eighth grader at W.R. Tolar K-8 School. Her sponsor is the Tallahassee Democrat. 48 Cara Busheme of Boynton Beach is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Christa McAuliffe Middle School. Her sponsor is the Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach.

52 Marcy Ann Acosta Ermitanio of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Chacha Oceanview Junior High School. Her sponsor is the Pacific Daily News.

60 Marlene Santora of North Riverside is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Komarek School. Her sponsor is Commonwealth Edison. 61 Kimberly Jonisse Belser of Bolingbrook is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Humphrey Middle School. Her sponsor is Commonwealth Edison. 62 Lucas Michael Urbanski of Crystal Lake is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Immanuel Lutheran School. His sponsor is the Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake). 63 Yasir Hasnain of Forsyth is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Maroa Forsyth Middle School. His sponsor is the Herald & Review (Decatur). 64 Ben Rydecki of Somonauk is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Somonauk Middle School. His sponsor is the Daily Chronicle (DeKalb). 65 Christopher P. Rademacher of Polo is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Aplington Middle School. His sponsor is The Telegraph (Dixon). 66 Pranav Sivakumar of Tower Lakes is a 12-yearold seventh grader at Barrington Middle School Station Campus. His sponsor is the Lake County Regional Office of Education (Grayslake). 67 Dhruva Tapan Mehta of Bourbonnais is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center. His sponsor is The Daily Journal (Kankakee).

Hawaii 53 Taggart H.S. Nakamoto of Kealakekua is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Konawaena Middle School. His sponsor is aio (Honolulu).

Idaho 54 Sarah Sedy of Coeur d Alene is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Woodland Middle School. Her sponsor is the Coeur dAlene Press. 55 Malie Queta Curren of Tetonia is a 12-yearold sixth grader at Teton Middle School. Her sponsor is the Teton Valley News (Driggs). 56 Ian T. Wendt of Moscow is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Moscow Junior High. His sponsor is the Lewiston Tribune.

Georgia 49 Rachael Cundey of Evans is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Lakeside Middle School. Her sponsor is The Augusta Chronicle. 50 Simola Nayak of Atlanta is a 13-yearold eighth grader at Henderson Middle School. Her sponsor is the Georgia Association of Educators.

Illinois 57 Christine Alex of Chicago is an 11-yearold fifth grader at Lenart Regional Gifted Center. Her sponsor is Chicago Public Schools. 58 Simon Ricci of Chicago is a 14-year-old eighth grader at the Latin School of Chicago. His sponsor is the Chicago Spelling Bee Collaborative. 59 Sophia Margareth Whittemore of Glendale Heights is a 14-year-old eighth grader at St. Walter Catholic School. Her sponsor is Commonwealth Edison.

Ghana 51 Philemon A. Awan of Ho is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Holy Spirit Catholic Preparatory School. His sponsor is Essence Communications Ltd.

16 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

68 Jay N. Shirodkar of Belvidere is a 14-year-old seventh grader at Keith Country Day School. His sponsor is the BooneWinnebago Regional Office of Education (Loves Park). 69 Sophie Bergman of Bettendorf, Iowa, is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Morning Star Academy. Her sponsor is The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus (Moline). 70 Grant Innis of La Salle is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Lincoln Junior High School. His sponsor is the Peoria Journal Star. 71 Daniel K. Oster of Batavia is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Rotolo Middle School. His sponsor is the Kane County Chronicle (Saint Charles). 72 Parker Elizabeth Carls of Beardstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Beardstown Christian Academy. Her sponsor is The State Journal-Register (Springfield). 73 Greg D. Kessel of Rock Falls is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Rock Falls Middle School. His sponsor is The Daily Gazette (Sterling). 74 Andrew D. Stevens of Freeport is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Immanuel Lutheran School. His sponsor is the Carroll/JoDaviess/ Stephenson Regional Office of Education (Stockton).

76 Matthew Zheng of Carmel is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Clay Middle School. His sponsor is Williams Comfort Air (Carmel). 77 Aaron Michael Manning of Evansville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Plaza Park International Prep Academy. His sponsor is the Evansville Courier & Press. 78 Kaelyn Reigh Bender of Albion is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School. Her sponsor is The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne). 79 Gina Solomito of Indianapolis is a homeschooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis. 80 Pranav Haran of Kokomo is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Western Middle School. His sponsor is The Kokomo Tribune. 81 Casey Hennings of DeMotte is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Kankakee Valley Middle School. Her sponsor is the Journal and Courier (Lafayette). 82 Ross M. DeLong of Upland is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Eastbrook South Elementary School. His sponsor is Indiana Wesleyan University. 83 Andie Marie Reidy of Hartford City is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Blackford Junior High School. Her sponsor is The Star Press (Muncie). 84 Margaret Flaherty Peterson of Granger is a home-schooled 12-yearold sixth grader. Her sponsor is the South Bend Tribune.

85 Sabin Karki of Terre Haute is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Honey Creek Middle School. His sponsor is The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute). 86 Katie Kirk of Valparaiso is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Immanuel Lutheran School. Her sponsor is the Kankakee Valley REMC (Wanatah).

Iowa 87 Jeremy Ferguson of Mount Vernon is a 10-yearold fifth grader at Mount Vernon Middle School. His sponsor is Iowa State Universitys Greenlee School of Journalism. 88 Joshua N. Kalyanapu of Asbury is a 13-year-old seventh grader at TriState Christian School. His sponsor is the Telegraph Herald (Dubuque).

Jamaica 89 Gifton Samuel Wright of Spanish Town is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Kingston College. His sponsor is the Jamaica Gleaner.

Japan 90 Haruka Masuda of Chiba City is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Makuhari International School and Shibuya Kyouiku Gakuen Makuhari Junior High School. Her sponsor is The Japan Times.

Kansas 91 Clara K. Wicoff of Iola is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Iola Middle School. Her sponsor is the Great Bend Tribune.

Indiana 75 Star Han of Bloomington is a 12-yearold sixth grader at University Elementary School. Her sponsor is Indiana University.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 17

Spellers and Sponsors


Continued

92 Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe is a 10-year-old fifth grader at Regency Place Elementary School. Her sponsor is The Olathe News. 93 Emma Steimle of Lawrence is a 14-yearold eighth grader at West Middle School. Her sponsor is The Topeka Capital-Journal.

99 Venkatesh Sivaraman of Shreveport is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Caddo Middle Magnet School. His sponsor is the Alliance For Education (Shreveport).

107 Hannah Rebecca Thomas of Beltsville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. Her sponsor is The Gazette & The Star (Laurel). 108 Michelle M. Beaulieu of Callaway is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Spring Ridge Middle School. Her sponsor is The Enterprise (Lexington Park). 109 Christian Thomas Kincaid of Owings is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Windy Hill Middle School. His sponsor is The Recorder (Prince Frederick). 110 Sydney Christley of White Plains is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Matthew Henson Middle School. Her sponsor is the Maryland Independent (Waldorf ).

Maine 100 Caitlin Marie Hillery of Glenburn is a 14-yearold eighth grader at All Saints Catholic School. Her sponsor is Husson University. 101 Nat Jordan of Cape Elizabeth is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Cape Elizabeth Middle School. His sponsor is the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.

Kentucky 94 Emily Keaton of Pikeville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Christ Central School. Her sponsor is the Kentucky Spelling Bee Collaborative.

Maryland 102 Olivia Nicole Simmons of Crofton is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Wiley H. Bates Middle School. Her sponsor is the 21st Century Education Foundation (Annapolis). 103 Shaheer Ali Imam of Catonsville is an 8-yearold third grader at the Al-Rahmah School. His sponsor is Learn It Systems (Baltimore). 104 Reid Aleksander FitzHugh of Rockville is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Julius West Middle School. His sponsor is The Meakem Group of Wells Fargo Advisors (Bethesda). 105 Jack Nolan of Elkridge is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Mayfield Woods Middle School. His sponsor is the Howard County Library (Columbia). 106 Grace Li of Hagerstown is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Boonsboro Middle School. Her sponsor is The HeraldMail (Hagerstown).

Louisiana 95 Nickolas Day of Baton Rouge is a 13-year-old sixth grader at Parkview Baptist School. His sponsor is the Louisiana Childrens Discovery Center (Hammond). 96 Emily A. McGraw of Lafayette is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Our Lady of Fatima School. Her sponsor is the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette. 97 Caleb Miller of Calhoun is a homeschooled 12-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is The News-Star (Monroe). 98 Jessica E. Davis of Metairie is a 13-yearold seventh grader at St. Benilde School. Her sponsor is The TimesPicayune.

Massachusetts 111 Sam Lowery of Charlestown is a 12-yearold sixth grader at the Warren-Prescott School. His sponsor is the Boston Centers for Youth & Families. 278 Zachary Doiron of Brighton is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Edison K-8 School. His sponsor is the Boston Centers for Youth & Families. 112 Katie Hudek of Princeton is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is the Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg). 113 Amber Born of Marblehead is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Daily Item (Lynn). 114 Molly K. Cahill of Kingston is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Montrose School. Her sponsor is Comcast (Taunton).

18 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

115 Coralee Ashley Tibeingana Ahabwe Wade LaRue of Vineyard Haven is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Tisbury School. Her sponsor is The Marthas Vineyard Times.

123 Kuvam Nirad Shahane of Rochester Hills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Reuther Middle School. His sponsor is The Oakland Press. 124 Hannah Jackson of Midland is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. Her sponsor is the Saginaw Independent School District. 125 Brett Tutton of Coloma is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Grace Christian School. His sponsor is The Herald Palladium (St. Joseph). 126 Jack Pasche of Suttons Bay is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Suttons Bay Middle School. His sponsor is the Traverse City Record-Eagle. 127 Kavyapranati Pratapa of Ypsilanti is a 12-year-old seventh grader at South Arbor Charter Academy. Her sponsor is Willow Run Community Schools (Ypsilanti).

131 Roshini Shreya Asirvatham of Rochester is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Friedell Middle School. Her sponsor is the Southeast Service Cooperative (Rochester). 132 Matthew R. Majerle of Baxter is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Forestview Middle School. His sponsor is the National Joint Powers Alliance (Staples).

Michigan 116 Amulya Parmar of Sterling Heights. is a home-schooled 13-yearold seventh grader. His sponsor is The Detroit News. 117 Mwangi Wa Maina of Grand Rapids is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Crestwood Middle School. His sponsor is the Kent Intermediate School District (Grand Rapids). 118 Leland F. Finney of Spalding is a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Central Junior/Senior High School. His sponsor is the Upper Peninsula Spelling Bee Collaborative. 119 Ritvik Reddy Jillala of Spring Arbor is a 10-year-old fifth grader at Warner Elementary School. His sponsor is The Jackson Citizen Patriot. 120 Marissa J. Pruitt of Lapeer is a 13-year-old eighth grader at RollandWarner Middle School. Her sponsor is The County Press (Lapeer). 121 Mitchell Lange of Ludington is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Mason County Central Middle School. His sponsor is the Ludington Daily News. 122 Nathaniel F. Britton of Macomb is an 11-yearold fifth grader at Peace Lutheran School. His sponsor is The Macomb Daily.

Mississippi 133 Dev Jaiswal of Louisville is a 10-year-old fifth grader at Winston Academy. His sponsor is the Mississippi Association of Educators.

Missouri 134 Priscilla Liow of Columbia is a homeschooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is the Columbia Daily Tribune. 135 Jacob L. Longmeyer of Pleasant Hill is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Pleasant Hill Middle School. His sponsor is the Cass County Democrat Missourian (Harrisonville). 136 Jordan Gabriella Hoffman of Lees Summit is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Pleasant Lea Middle School. Her sponsor is the Jackson County Spelling Bee Collaborative (Kansas City). 137 Adeesh Mishra of Poplar Bluff is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Sacred Heart School. His sponsor is Three Rivers Community College. 138 Joseph R. Snelling of Sedalia is a 10-yearold fifth grader at Sedalia Middle School. His sponsor is the Sedalia Spelling Bee Collaborative.

Minnesota 128 Emma Greenlee of Aurora is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Mesabi East High School. Her sponsor is the Lakes Country Service Cooperative (Fergus Falls). 129 Elise K. Stahl of Greenfield is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. (Minneapolis). 130 Antony Joseph of Fairmont is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Fairmont Junior/Senior High School. His sponsor is the South Central Service Cooperative (North Mankato).

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 19

New Jersey

New York 154 Massoud S. Sharif of Albany is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Farnsworth Middle School. His sponsor is the Times Union (Albany). 155 Nabeel Rahman of Buffalo is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Casey Middle School. His sponsor is The Buffalo News. 156 Sruti Akula of Horseheads is a 14-yearold eighth grader at the Alternate School of Math and Science. Her sponsor is The Leader (Corning). 157 Gavin J. Buehler of Pultneyville is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Williamson Middle School. His sponsor is the Finger Lakes Times (Geneva). 158 Adam Ferrari of Johnstown is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Wheelerville Union Free School. His sponsor is The Leader-Herald (Gloversville). 159 Dean Joseph Creedon of Oceanside is a 10-year-old fifth grader at Oaks School #3. His sponsor is Hofstra University. 160 Keerthi Radhakrishnan of Middletown is a 13-yearold eighth grader at Circleville Middle School. His sponsor is the Times Herald-Record (Middletown). 161 Jabaal A. Allen of Mount Vernon is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Longfellow Middle. His sponsor is the Mount Vernon Inquirer. 162 Arvind V. Mahankali of Bayside Hills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Junior High School 74 Nathaniel Hawthorne. His sponsor is the Daily News.

Spellers and Sponsors


Continued

139 Julian E. Pacheco of Springfield is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Pipkin Middle School. His sponsor is Missouri State Universitys College of Arts and Letters. 140 Grant Pace of Parkville is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Lakeview Middle School. His sponsor is the St. Joseph News-Press. 141 Gokul Venkatachalam of Chesterfield is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Claymont Elementary School. His sponsor is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

146 Angela Wang of Belle Mead is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Montgomery Upper Middle School. Her sponsor is Townsquare Media (Bayville). 147 Bisma Nasir of Blackwood is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Glen Landing Middle School. Her sponsor is the Camden Spelling Bee Collaborative. 148 Sanjana Mohan Malla of Haverstraw, New York, is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Haverstraw Middle School. Her sponsor is The Record and Herald News (Hackensack). 149 Kennith Gonzalez of Union City is an 11-year-old sixth grader at St. Francis Academy. His sponsor is the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs (Jersey City). 150 Carson Monks of Montague is a homeschooled 12-year-old sixth grader. His sponsor is the Tri-State Spelling Bee Committee (Montague). 151 Cooper Barth of West Long Branch is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Frank Antonides School. His sponsor is the Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune. 152 Eboseremhen I. Eigbe of Galloway is a 12-yearold sixth grader at Roland Rogers Elementary School. His sponsor is Townsquare Media (Northfield).

Montana 142 Madelyn R. Kirsch of Lewistown is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Lewistown Junior High School. Her sponsor is Lee Newspapers of Montana.

Nebraska 143 Julia Fiksinski of Elkhorn is a 13-year-old eighth grader at BrownellTalbot School. Her sponsor is the Omaha World-Herald.

Nevada 144 Megan Allison Pineda of Reno is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Billinghurst Middle School. Her sponsor is the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

New Mexico 153 Jacob Bayly Hunter of Santa Fe is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Edward Ortiz Middle School. His sponsor is The Albuquerque Journal.

New Hampshire 145 Emma Ciereszynski of Dover is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Dover Middle School. Her sponsor is the New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester).
20 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

163 Alexis Tang of New York is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Spence School. Her sponsor is the Daily News. 164 Kristin A. Ratliff of Cooperstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Cooperstown Central School. Her sponsor is The Daily Star (Oneonta). 165 Philip Andrew Cummings of Oswego is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Oswego Middle School. His sponsor is The Palladium-Times (Oswego). 166 Nicholas Manfred of Moriah is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Moriah Central School. His sponsor is the Press-Republican (Plattsburgh). 167 Emily Theresa Carello of Syracuse is a 12-yearold seventh grader at H.W. Smith School. Her sponsor is The Post-Standard (Syracuse). 168 Dylan OConnor of Alexandria Bay is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Alexandria Central School. His sponsor is the Watertown Daily Times.

172 Zachary Bryson Jacobs of Clayton is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Clayton Middle School. His sponsor is The Clayton News-Star. 173 Ned Swansey of Durham is a 10-year-old fourth grader at E.K. Powe Elementary School. His sponsor is Duke Universitys Office of Durham and Regional Affairs. 174 Ashrita Vadlapatla of Fayetteville is an 8-year-old fourth grader at Renaissance Classical Christian Academy. Her sponsor is The Fayetteville Observer. 175 Katie M. Danis of Gastonia is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Gaston Day School. Her sponsor is The Gaston Gazette (Gastonia). 176 Aidan Patrick Markwick of Sanford is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Western Harnett Middle School. His sponsor is the Harnett County Spelling Bee Collaborative (Lillington). 177 Michael A. Bono of Rolesville is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Thales Academy Junior High School. His sponsor is PAGE of Wake County (Raleigh). 178 Vedantanshu Kar of Rocky Mount is a 13-yearold eighth grader at J.W. Parker Middle School. His sponsor is the Delta Center for Life Development, Inc. (Rocky Mount). 179 Hunter Randolph of Sanford is a 13-year-old seventh grader at SanLee Middle School. His sponsor is PAGE of Lee County (Sanford). 180 Sierra Kathleen Parker of Shelby is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Shelby Middle School. Her sponsor is The Shelby Star.

181 Isabella Mayo of Blounts Creek is a 14-yearold eighth grader at P.S. Jones Middle School. Her sponsor is the Washington Daily News. 182 Landry Ballance of Fremont is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Greenfield School. His sponsor is the Wilson Daily Times. 183 Nejat Alkadir of High Point is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Ledford Middle School. Her sponsor is the Winston-Salem Journal.

North Dakota 184 Ty Korsmo of Northwood is a homeschooled 12-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders.

Ohio 185 Sunny Levine of Medina is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Claggett Middle School. Her sponsor is the Akron Beacon Journal. 186 Spencer Brooks of Columbus is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Bexley Middle School. His sponsor is Ohio Universitys Scripps College of Communication. 187 Nathan Robert Dugan of Canton is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Faircrest Memorial Middle School. His sponsor is The Repository (Canton). 188 Manu U. Nair of Union, Kentucky, is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Shirley Mann Elementary School. His sponsor is WCPO-TV Channel 9 (Cincinnati).

New Zealand 169 Ryan McLellan of Invercargill is a 13-yearold eighth grader at James Hargest College. His sponsor is the New Zealand Spelling Bee Trust.

North Carolina 170 Meghna Mahadevan of Elon is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Western Alamance Middle School. Her sponsor is the TimesNews (Burlington). 171 Olivia Elyse Jones of Charlotte is a 12-yearold seventh grader at Charlotte Preparatory School. Her sponsor is The Charlotte Observer.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 21

Spellers and Sponsors


Continued

189 Mira Kathryn ODonnell of Cincinnati is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Sands Montessori Elementary School. Her sponsor is WCPO-TV Channel 9 (Cincinnati). 190 Isabella Marie Nilsson of Cleveland Heights is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Hathaway Brown School. Her sponsor is The Plain Dealer (Cleveland). 191 Tabitha Esme Wells of Vandalia is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Morton Middle School. Her sponsor is the Dayton Daily News. 192 Veto P. Lopez of Avon is a 13-year-old eighth grader at St. Jude School. His sponsor is the Educational Service Center of Lorain County (LaGrange). 193 Nicholas B. Rushlow of Pickerington is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Lakeview Junior High School. His sponsor is the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. 194 LeeAnn Mekkattukulam Jose of Wapakoneta is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Wapakoneta Middle School. Her sponsor is The Lima News. 195 Carter M. Lang of Lowell is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Fort Frye Junior High School. His sponsor is The Marietta Times. 196 Marcus Larenz Clark of Bridgeport is a 12-yearold sixth grader at Martins Ferry Middle School. His sponsor is The Times Leader (Martins Ferry).

197 Michael Steven Reiner of Wellsville is a 15-year-old eighth grader at Daw Middle School. His sponsors are the Salem News, East Liverpool Review and The Morning Journal. 198 Dharani Kotekal of Wintersville is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Indian Creek Junior High. Her sponsor is The Herald-Star (Steubenville). 199 Spencer Lee Hipsher of Arcadia is a 13-yearold seventh grader at St. Wendelin Catholic School. His sponsor is The Blade (Toledo). 200 Rebekah Stanhope of Kinsman is a 12-yearold sixth grader at Joseph Badger Middle School. Her sponsor is The Tribune Chronicle (Warren). 201 Vishnu S. Nistala of Mentor is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Mentor Shore Middle School. His sponsor is The News-Herald (Willoughby). 202 Max L. Lee of Canfield is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Canfield Village Middle School. His sponsor is The Vindicator (Youngstown).

Oregon 205 Katie Carter of Vancouver, Washington, is a home-schooled 12-yearold seventh grader. Her sponsor is the Portland Tribune.

Pennsylvania 206 Reena Elizebath Benny of Glen Mills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Garnet Valley Middle School. Her sponsor is The Chester Spirit. 207 Katie Proffitt of Spring City is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Owen J. Roberts Middle School. Her sponsor is the Chester County Intermediate Unit (Downingtown). 208 Naomi W. Li of Center Valley is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Southern Lehigh Middle School. Her sponsor is The Express-Times (Easton). 209 Katie Dudding of Dillsburg is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Saint Joseph School. Her sponsor is WITF: Public Media for Central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg). 210 John F. Fulton of Lancaster is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Lancaster Country Day School. His sponsor is the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era. 211 Neha Bhardwaj of Harleysville is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Indian Valley Middle School. Her sponsor is The Times Herald (Norristown). 212 Visha Parmar of Bensalem is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Robert K. Shafer Middle School. Her sponsor is the Pennridge Community Education Foundation (Perkasie).

Oklahoma 203 Richelle Marie Zampella of Muskogee is an 11-year-old fifth grader at the Oklahoma School for the Blind. Her sponsor is the Muskogee Spelling Bee Collaborative. 204 Noah J. Cassidy of Perkins is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is The Oklahoman.

22 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

213 Lena Greenberg of Philadelphia is a homeschooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is The Philadelphia Tribune. 214 Megan Rose Antoon of Connellsville is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Connellsville Junior High West. Her sponsor is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 215 Daniel Scott McGarvey of Williamstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Williams Valley Junior/Senior High School. His sponsor is The Republican Herald (Pottsville). 216 Tom Michael Velik of Kutztown is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Kutztown Area Middle School. His sponsor is the Reading Eagle. 217 Devin Reed of Drums is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Drums Elementary/Middle School. His sponsor is the Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre).

221 Austin T. Wood of Barnwell is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Guinyard Butler Middle School. His sponsor is The Allendale Sun. 222 Ian Jef Aquino Bongalonta of Goose Creek is a 12-yearold seventh grader at Westview Middle School. His sponsor is The Post and Courier (Charleston). 223 Jacob Evers of McColl is a 13-year-old seventh grader at McColl Elementary Middle School. His sponsor is the Pee Dee Education Center (Florence). 224 Isabella Mika Neubauer of Pawleys Island is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Lowcountry Preparatory School. Her sponsor is The Sun News (Myrtle Beach). 225 Reagan P. Leonard of Spartanburg is a 13-yearold eighth grader at R.P. Dawkins Middle School. His sponsor is the HeraldJournal (Spartanburg).

Tennessee 228 Nicole C. Frische of Soddy-Daisy is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Allen Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Chattanooga Times Free Press. 229 Claire E. Layne of Buchanan is a homeschooled 14-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Jackson Sun. 230 Hannah Katherine Jackson of Fall Branch is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Ross N. Robinson Middle School. Her sponsor is the Knoxville News Sentinel. 231 Valery T. Nguyen-Au of Memphis is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Lowrance Elementary. Her sponsor is The Commercial Appeal (Memphis). 232 Coleman Swartzfager of Shelby, Mississippi, is an 11-yearold fifth grader at B.L. Bell Academy. His sponsor is The Commercial Appeal (Memphis). 233 Grace Park of Nashville is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet School. Her sponsor is Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz (Nashville).

Puerto Rico 218 Alexandra I. Harper of San Juan is an 11-yearold fifth grader at Guamani Private School. Her sponsor is the CommonwealthParkville School (San Juan). South Dakota 226 Maria Josephina Braga-Henebry of Garretson is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is the University of South Dakota.

Rhode Island 219 Emma Vorenberg of Barrington is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Barrington Middle School. Her sponsor is The Valley Breeze (Cumberland).

Texas 234 Kate Miller of Abilene is a home-schooled 12-year-old sixth grader. Her sponsor is the Abilene Reporter-News. 235 Casey M. Ellis of Amarillo is an 11-year-old fifth grader at Windsor Elementary. Her sponsor is the Amarillo Globe-News.

South Korea 227 Jiwon Seo of Suwon-si is a 15-year-old eighth grader at Hwahong Middle School. Her sponsor is Yoons English School (Seoul).

South Carolina 220 Sheena Wandia Chege of Greenwood is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Greenwood Christian School. Her sponsor is the Anderson Independent Mail.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 23

Spellers and Sponsors


Continued

236 Victoria Alexis Epstein of Corpus Christi is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Flour Bluff Junior High. Her sponsor is the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 237 Chetan Reddy of Plano is a 12-year-old seventh grader at C.M. Rice Middle School. His sponsor is The Dallas Morning News. 238 Abigail Violet Spitzer of El Paso is a home-schooled 13-yearold eighth grader. Her sponsor is the El Paso Times. 239 Mark De Los Santos of Arlington is a 13-yearold eighth grader at Holy Rosary Catholic School. His sponsor is Texas Christian University. 240 Alen Peter Saju of Edinburg is a 10-year-old fifth grader at Freddy Gonzalez Elementary School. His sponsor is Valley Freedom Newspapers (Harlingen). 241 Sivateja Tangirala of Sugar Land is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Fort Settlement Middle School. His sponsor is HoustonPBS. 242 Roland Jay Patricio of Laredo is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Clark Middle School. His sponsor is the Laredo Morning Times. 243 Neloy R. Shome of Lubbock is a 12-yearold seventh grader at All Saints Episcopal School. His sponsor is the Lubbock AvalancheJournal.

244 Thomas Rubio of Midland is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Alamo Junior High School. His sponsor is the Midland Reporter-Telegram. 245 Ethan W. Wall of Monahans is a 12-yearold sixth grader at Sudderth Elementary School. His sponsor is the Odessa American. 246 Clancy Dean Carter of Wall is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Wall Middle School. His sponsor is the San Angelo Standard-Times. 247 Sarah Hurlin of Mico is a home-schooled 13-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is the San Antonio ExpressNews. 248 Pauline Negrete of Edna is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Edna Junior High School. Her sponsor is the Victoria Advocate. 249 Whitney D. Jameson of Waco is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Connally Junior High School. Her sponsor is BBVA Compass Bank (Waco). 250 Ruth O. Anwasi of Wichita Falls is a 12-yearold seventh grader at Burkburnett Middle School. Her sponsor is the Times Record News (Wichita Falls).

Utah 252 Jared Ward of Blanding is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Albert R. Lyman Middle School. His sponsor is the Southeast Education Service Center (Price). 253 Sophie M. Choate of Provo is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Westridge Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Daily Herald (Provo). 254 Vismaya Jui Kharkar of Bountiful is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Challenger School. Her sponsor is The Valley Journals (Salt Lake City).

Vermont 255 Ronan Howlett of Cornwall is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Middlebury Union Middle School. His sponsor is The Burlington Free Press.

Virginia 256 Kayla Lynn Corredera-Wells of Palmyra is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Fluvanna County Middle School. Her sponsors are The NewsVirginian and The Daily Progress (Charlottesville). 257 Madison Skye Fuentes of Danville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Westover Christian Academy. Her sponsor is the Danville Register and Bee. 258 Andrew L. Marino of Warrenton is a 13-yearold seventh grader at Warrenton Middle School. His sponsor is The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg).

US Virgin Islands 251 Yad B. Bass of Christiansted is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Ricardo Richards Elementary School. His sponsor is The Virgin Islands Daily News.

24 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

259 Karlesha DaBrea Canady of Hampton is a 15-year-old eighth grader at C. Alton Lindsay Middle School. Her sponsor is the Hampton Literary Society. 260 Urna Chakrabarty of Harrisonburg is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Thomas Harrison Middle School. Her sponsor is the Rockingham District Ruritans (Harrisonburg). 261 Luke A. Thornburgh of Purcellville is a homeschooled 12-year-old sixth grader. His sponsor is the Loudoun TimesMirror (Leesburg). 262 Sarah A. Phillips of Lynchburg is a 14-yearold eighth grader at Linkhorne Middle School. Her sponsor is The News & Advance (Lynchburg). 263 Caroline Ellissa Willett of Virginia Beach is a home-schooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk). 264 Jae Canetti of Fairfax is a 10-year-old fourth grader at Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences. His sponsor is the Fairfax County Times (Reston). 265 Evan Daniel Smith of Henrico is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond). 266 Shayley Grace Martin of Riner is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Floyd Elementary School. Her sponsor is The Roanoke Times.

267 Victoria Alexandra Whited of Richlands is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Richlands Middle School. Her sponsor is the Tazewell County Fair Association (Tazewell). 268 Samuel George Estep of Berryville is a home-schooled 14-yearold eighth grader. His sponsor is The Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (Winchester). 269 Lori Anne C. Madison of Woodbridge is a homeschooled 6-year-old second grader. Her sponsor is the News & Messenger (Woodbridge).

274 Shivali B. Halabe of Morgantown is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Suncrest Middle School. Her sponsor is The Dominion Post (Morgantown). 275 Olivia Grace Archer of Wheeling is a 13-yearold seventh grader at St. Vincent de Paul Parish School. Her sponsor is The Catholic Spirit (Wheeling).

Wisconsin 276 Heloise Cheruvalath of Menomonee Falls is a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Middle School. Her sponsor is the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison).

Washington 270 Camille Georgeanne Murphy of Seattle is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Joseph School. Her sponsor is Town Hall Seattle. 271 Jonah Gunter of Leavenworth is a homeschooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is the North Central Washington Collaborative Spelling Bee (Wenatchee). Wyoming 277 Lia G. Eggleston of Laramie is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Snowy Range Academy. Her sponsor is the Wyoming Spelling Bee Collaborative.

Speller 278 can be found on page 18 under Massachusetts.

West Virginia 272 Elizabeth Koh of Beckley is a 13-year-old eighth grader at St. Francis de Sales School. Her sponsor is the Charleston Gazette-Mail. 273 Thomas G. Aldridge of Bridgeport is a homeschooled 13-year-old eighth grader. His sponsor is The Clarksburg ExponentTelegram.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 25

Leadership and Permanent Staff


Scripps National Spelling Bee Paige P. Kimble Director Paige is the 1981 national champion and the 1980 runnerup representing the El Paso Herald-Post. She has served the program in various capacities for the past 29 years, including 15 years as director. Abi C. Evans Development Manager Abi works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Companys corporate office. This is her second year with the program. Micheal W. Hickerson Communications Manager Micheal works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Companys corporate office. This is his first year with the program. Corrie E. Loeffler Project Manager Corrie is serving her sixth year on the Bees year-round staff after having served six years on staff. She represented the Merced Sun-Star in the 1994, 1995 and 1996 national finals, tying for sixth place in 1995. Cybelle L. Weeks Sponsorship and Operations Manager Cybelle works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Companys corporate office. This is her 15th year with the program. Janice S. Liebenberg Sponsorship and Operations Coordinator Janice works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Companys corporate office. This is her sixth year with the program. Nicole A. Dittoe Sponsorship and Operations Assistant Nicole works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Companys corporate office. This is her second year with the program. Sally McMain Administrative Assistant Sally works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Companys corporate office. This is her first year with the program.

The E.W. Scripps Company Rich Boehne is president and chief executive officer of The E.W. Scripps Company. Tim King, media liaison, is vice president of communications and investor relations for The E.W. Scripps Company.

26 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Ofcials
Dr. Jacques A. Bailly Pronouncer Dr. Bailly is the 1980 national champion representing the Rocky Mountain News. He is an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont. This is his tenth year as pronouncer after having served 12 years as associate pronouncer. Dr. Brian M. Sietsema Associate Pronouncer Dr. Sietsema is an ordained priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and serves a parish in Lansing, Michigan. After receiving a doctorate in linguistics in 1989, he was the pronunciation editor for Merriam-Webster from 1990 to 1998. This is Dr. Sietsemas tenth year as associate pronouncer. Mary Brooks Head Judge Mrs. Brooks is a retired West Des Moines, Iowa, educator. She has served the program in various capacities for the past 41 years, including 26 years as a judge and five years as co-director. Blake Giddens Judge Mr. Giddens is the 1983 national champion representing the El Paso Herald-Post. He is a professional engineer for a civil engineering firm in Fairfax, Virginia. This is his 12th year as a judge after having served five years as auxiliary judge and four years on crew. Dr. Ed Low Judge Dr. Low is professor emeritus of English at Metropolitan State College of Denver. This is Dr. Lows 19th year as a judge for the national finals.He has served as head judge for 24 years forDenvers spelling bee. George Thampy Judge Mr. Thampy is the 2000 national champion representing the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.He is an investor and associate at Concentric Equity Partners, a private equity firm in Chicago, Illinois. This is Mr. Thampys first year as a judge after having served six years on staff.
2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 27

Bee Week Staff B


Mark Bowen Photographer Mark is a professional free-lance photographer in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bryan Brandeberry Production Staff Bryan is a senior systems engineer for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Chris Burns Production Staff Chris is a personal technology systems specialist for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kaydee Butts Production Staff Kaydee is an executive assistant for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Julie Cornwell Production Staff Julie is a paralegal for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Gail Farwick Production Staff Gail is director of program and vendor management for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Dave Giles Production Staff Dave is vice president, deputy general counsel and chief ethics officer for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Paul Gilman Stage Manager Paul is manager of application development for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mary Groene Production Staff Mary is a systems analyst for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.
28 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Tracey Gustafson Production Staff Tracy is a digital media planner for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kara Hadge Production Staff Kara is the head of digital media in the United States for the British Council in Washington, D. C. She represented the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts, in the1999 and 2000 national finals. Jeff Hassan Production Staff Jeff is managing director of planning for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kristin Hawkins Production Staff Kristin graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009 and now works in Kingston, Jamaica. Kristin represented the Loudoun Times-Mirror in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 national finals, placing second in 2001. Clinton Hess Production Staff Clinton is a program manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Robyn Hildal Media Desk Manager Robyn is vice president of talent and diversity for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Arielle Kass Production Staff Arielle is a business reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, Georgia. Vagelis V Kontopos Production Staff V is asenior financial reporting analyst for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Chip Mahaney Production Staff Chip is senior director for local operations for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Valerie Miller Production Staff Valerie is corporate communications manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kevin Moch Production Staff Kevin is a second-year PhD student in Classics at the University of California, Berkeley. He represented North Dakota in the 2001 and 2002 national finals, tying for third place in 2002. Bret G. Nealis Production Staff Bret is a software engineer for Professional Consulting Services, Inc. , in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bridget Nealis Production Staff Bridget is a personal banker for Fifth Third Bank in Greensburg, Indiana. Malorie Nealis Production Staff Malorie Nealis is a student at The Ohio State University, studying education and mathematics. Brett Pappas Production Staff Brett is an application architect for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Paul Riccobene Production Staff Paul is a senior network engineer for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Michele Roberts Production Staff Michele is an administrative assistant for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Angie Zeroski Rose Production Staff Angie is a marketing process improvement manager at The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio. She represented the Herald-Star of Steubenville, Ohio, in the 1989 national finals. Lee Rose Production Staff Lee is the director of human resources for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Michael Rose Technical Representative Michael is an education consultant with Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ria Farrell Schalnat Production Staff Ria is a patent attorney with Frost Brown Todd LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kimball Sigala Production Staff Kimball is a network engineering manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Carin Stacy Production Staff Carin is a compensation manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. David Taylor Production Staff David is a senior personal technology systems specialist for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Amy Varon Production Staff Amy is a systems analyst for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee 29

About Scripps
Scripps (www.scripps.com) delivers quality journalism and creates valuable marketing environments through television stations, newspapers and a growing menu of digital products and services that now includes social games. Creative and mission-driven employees give light so the people can find their own way at 19 television stations in major U.S. markets and at newspapers in 13 markets.

Scripps National Spelling Bee 312 Walnut Street, 28th Floor Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

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