Two Wisconsin eighth graders advance to national spelling bee
By Bella Ferak
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MADISON, Wis. (WISC) — MADISON, Wis. — Ethan Robert and Arnav Vempati, two eighth graders from southern Wisconsin, will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May after taking home first and second place at the Badger State Spelling Bee this Saturday.
Robert, from New Berlin, and Vempati, from Middleton, endured 19 rounds of both spelling and vocabulary testing, defeating their 5th through 8th grade competitors and showcasing their expansive knowledge of words. Robert dominated the bee, eventually winning first place with the word “analphabet.”
Words are selected by Scripps and organized into a list ascending by difficulty. As the competition progresses, words become more difficult and may include foreign language entries. Contestants are allowed to ask for definition, language of origin, part of speech, usage in a sentence and alternate pronunciations before answering.
Many words, such as “aguaji” and “maltodextrin,” stunned competitors as they attempted to deduce the spelling. Robert said his strategy when faced with unfamiliar words is not to go home and memorize the dictionary; rather, it’s to understand the broader themes of language.
“I study roots and language patterns to help me try to decipher the words that I’m getting,” Robert said. “If I know the rules of the language, then I can find the words that follow the pattern and spell it correctly.”
Robert wasn’t the only contestant that successfully made it through difficult words – Vempati and the rest of the top ten put in the work to earn their spots, too. It takes years of preparation to even make it past the regional competitions. Wisconsin Spelling Bee Coordinator Jane McMahon said watching that hard work culminate onstage is an impressive feat like no other.
“It’s so amazing to watch them display their excellence at spelling. They spell a lot of words correctly that I wouldn’t have spelled correctly, so it’s really great to see excellence of that level on the stage.” McMahon said.
The national bee will take place in Washington, D.C. in May.
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Samantha Calderonscalderon@wisctv.com(608)277-5133