WASHINGTON – The 100th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee continued for a second day on Wednesday, with some especially tough words eliminating the remaining contestants from the Northwest.
Gabriel Aguirre of Spokane Valley, 11, was eliminated in the first round on Tuesday when he misspelled “ape-ape,” an herb that grows in Hawaii. He can try again next year and will be eligible until age 14.
Navtaj Singh of Pullman, 14, and in his last year of eligibility, correctly spelled “nouveau” and defined “vehemence” before being stumped by “subgum,” a Chinese dish, in round 4.
Andrew Ford of Sandpoint, 14, successfully spelled “svarabhakti” – a word of Sanskrit origin that describes introducing a vowel between consonants – and had no trouble defining “trespass” in round 2. But in round 3, a w