A Fairfax County seventh-grader reached the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee before being eliminated, while three other Northern Virginia spellers were knocked out in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Nargiza Muzhapaer, 13, who attends Pinnacle Academy in Chantilly, was one of only 45 spellers to reach Wednesday afternoon’s semifinal round. The bee, being held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., started with 245 spellers.
Muzhapaer correctly spelled “phlox,” “compotier” and “schlich” and provided correct definitions for “portentous” and “otolaryngology” to survive the first five rounds Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s her first appearance in the national bee.
However, in the sixth round, Muzhapaer misspelled “lunumidella” (a tree of Asia, Africa and Australasia) as “lunyamedulla.” She finished in a tie for 21st place.
Oviya Amalraj of Ashburn, representing Loudoun County, reached the fifth round before providing an incorrect definition for “klaxon” (an electrically operated horn or warning signal). She wound up tied for 46th place.
Amalraj, who tied for 23rd place in last year’s national bee, is a seventh-grader at J. Michael Lunsford Middle School.
Two other Northern Virginia spellers were among the 148 who survived Tuesday’s preliminary rounds to reach the quarterfinals Wednesday morning, but they were eliminated in the first quarterfinal round, the fourth round overall.
They included Haymarket fifth-grader Siya Sampath, making her second appearance at the national bee after winning the Prince William Regional Spelling Bee in March. The Prince William bee is sponsored by InsideNoVa and the Bel-Air Womans Club.
In Tuesday’s preliminary rounds, Sampath, 10, who attends J.W. Alvey Elementary School, correctly spelled “chicanery” and “Alsation” (a type of dog) and chose the correct definition of “vagabonds” (people who wander about from place to place).
However, in the fourth round she was tripped up on “Janiculum,” which she spelled “Geniculum.” Janiculum is a hill in western Rome.
Fairfax County’s second representative, Ankita Balaji, misspelled “baria” as “barilla” in the fourth round. Balaji is a seventh-grader at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon. The Fairfax County spellers are sponsored by the Fairfax County Council of PTAs.
Sampath and Balaji wound up tied for 60th place.
The finals will be televised tonight (Thursday) on the ION network.
This article was written by FFXnow’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today.
