But those who correctly spelled words while on stage Tuesday and Wednesday were not guaranteed reaching the finals. The written test had the largest say.
Three Ohio spellers will compete in the finals, which is made up of 50 spellers from the across the country.
The Ohio spellers left are Sebastian Castilla, 13, from Cincinnati, Nilla Rajan, 14, an eighth grader at Bishop Flaget Catholic School in Chillicothe and Sheridan Hennessy of Cincinnati.
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Hennessy, a 13-year-old seventh grader from Walnut Hills High School reached the finals Thursday of the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in large part because she performed so well in a written exam given all the spellers Monday.
Although she correctly spelled the words “Bauhaus” and “conchology” while on stage Tuesday and Wednesday, she scored an impressive 26 points on the crucial written test.
“I feel very happy because I didn’t get to the finals (in 2017) and I did this year,” she said. “I am super excited and I am proud that my studying paid off.”
The written test allowed the Bee sponsors to whittle down the nearly 600 spellers to the 50 who will compete Thursday morning.
The final handful of competitors will compete against one another Thursday evening, an event broadcast by ESPN.
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