Utah at the National Spelling Bee

There were four Utahns who made it to the National Spelling Bee. They all did well, and this is the best Utah has done, ever. I do not count 2001, because there was no written test then. Anna-Marie Sprenger of Provo, Utah, advanced to semifinals, but was unfortunately eliminated in Round 5 after misspelling privatim as privatum. All the Utahns impressed me this year, even if Matthew Perry misspelled keest as kiest. Even if I knew the word, I thought Matthew took a pretty good guess.

I was upset that Vismaya Kharkar did not make it to semifinals. This year, she did amazing at the Salt Lake Valley Spelling Bee, but it was hard to make it to semifinals this year. Spellers had to get a minimum of 29 points, unlike last year when spellers could have a minimum of 27 or 28 points. Nine more could have made it to semifinals if the minimum was lowered. In 2007, spellers needed to spell at least 18 words, correctly on the written test.

I though Jared Ward did amazing, too. He would take his time to think about the word, while he was up at the microphone. I had a feeling that he knew Ulyssean and echolalia, but he wanted to make sure that he had the right letters. When he was at the microphone, he reminded me of Veronica Penny. Veronica really takes all the time she needs at the microphone.

Back to Vismaya. When I heard maillot, I knew she had it! That word is in How to Spell Like a Champ, and she told me that she has the book.

Anna-Marie was one of the spellers who was impressive to watch. When she heard persillade and zucchini, she knew the etymologies right away. She did not hesitate on any word at all. During semifinals, she would ask for all the information, then say, "I think I got this!". She was a quick thinker, and never had the clock run low on her. If she was thrown a lot French, German, Romanian, and Spanish words, she would have probably won. Anna-Marie, you really showed what Utah can do at the National Spelling Bee! I wish you had a few more years of eligibility!

I was not just proud of Utah this year, but all the spellers. They were really focused this year, unlike last year, when a lot of words from Spell It! were misspelled. To me, the words seem to get easier every year. This year, no speller seemed nervous. Perhaps there were some, but it did not show.

I am proud of all the millions of spellers every year, who try to aim for the Scripps National Spelling Bee title. This is the longest-running educational program! I hope the Bee is extended throughout high school, because I want more students to compete. It hurts that the Bee is only until eighth grade. Good to every speller to every speller who will be competing in the future. Treasure every moment of the Bee!