Kids compete at the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee
The winner, Arvind Mahankali, who hails from Queens, N.Y., won by correctly spelling "knaidel," a Yiddish word for "dumpling."
Eboseremhen Eigbe of Galloway, N.J., was one of the hundreds of kids who participated in the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee held in Maryland from May 28-30.
Competing for a grand prize of $30,000, 281 contestants from around America plus a few from Canada took to the stage in a “sudden death” competition testing their spelling prowess. One mistake and they were out.
The competitors dwindled steadily over the three day event, which included computerized vocabulary tests introduced to improve participants’ knowledge of English.
Eigbe was eliminated when he could not spell “meiosis” during round three on May 29.
“Eleven contestants took the stage in the competition final, demonstrating their spelling prowess with words such as ‘auncel,’ ‘greffier,’ ‘envoutement,’ ‘mamaliga’ and ‘transrhenane,'” reports NBCNews.com. “Fan-favorite Amber Born, 14, of Marblehead, Mass., was tripped up by ‘hallali.'”
The winner, Arvind Mahankali, who hails from Queens, N.Y., won on Thursday by correctly spelling “knaidel,” a Yiddish word for “dumpling.”
Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter @lexisb.
