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Area spellers compete in national bee

Several Quad City-area students are among those who competed in the 2012 National Spelling Bee.
letters spelling

UPDATED: 

Total scores from Round One (written test) and Rounds Two and Three (on stage) determined which 50 spellers advanced to Thursday’s final rounds.

This year. our area competitors were eliminated by the end of competition Round 3.

Round 2 results for our area competitors: 

Speller 65, Christopher Rademacher, spells euphemism correctly in Round Two of the Bee.

Speller 69, Sophie Bergman, spells iambist correctly in Round Two of the Bee.

Speller 73, Greg Kessel, spells fluctuant correctly in Round Two of the Bee.

Speller 74, Andrew Stevens, spells dragoon incorrectly in Round Two of the Bee.

Speller 88, Joshua Kalyanapu, spells lorikeet correctly in Round Two of the Bee.

Round 3 results for our area competitors: 

Speller 65, Christopher Rademacher, spells ocelot correctly in Round Three of the Bee.

Speller 69, Sophie Bergman, spells Eocene correctly in Round Three of the Bee.

Speller 73, Greg Kessel, spells mukhtar correctly in Round Three of the Bee.

Speller 74, Andrew Stevens, spells perciatelli incorrectly in Round Three of the Bee.

Speller 88, Joshua Kalyanapu, spells barukhzy correctly in Round Three of the Bee.

Original story:

Several Quad City-area students are among those competing in the National Spelling Bee starting Wednesday, May 30, 2012.

This year’s National Spelling Bee includes the youngest-ever participant, a six-year-old second-grader from Virginia.  Lori Anne Madison beat out 21 kids to earn her place at the National Spelling Bee by spelling the word “vaquero.”

Click here for TIPS:  How you can be a better speller

Spellers range in age from six to 15 years old.  Altogether, 278 competitors are vying for cash, savings bonds, scholarship and trophy prizes.

Preliminary rounds start at 8 a.m. Eastern time May 30.  Semi-finals start at 10 a.m. Eastern time May 31 and the final round is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern time that same night.

Area spellers competing include:

Christopher Rademacher, a seventh-grader from Aplington Middle School in Polo, Illinois who is sponsored by The Telegraph in Dixon, Illinois;

Sophie Bergman, a sixth-grader from Morning Star Academy in Bettendorf, Iowa who is sponsored by The Dispatch and Rock Island Argus in Moline, Illinois;

Greg Kessel, an eighth-grader from Rock Falls Middle School in Rock Falls, Illinois who is sponsored by The Daily Gazette in Sterling, Illinois;

Andrew Stevens, an eighth-grader from Immanuel Lutheran School in Freeport, Illinois who is sponsored by the Carroll/JoDaviess/Stephenson regional Office of Education in Stockton, Illinois; and

Joshua Kalyanapu, a seventh-grader from Tri-State Christian School in Galena, Illinois who is sponsored by the Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, Iowa. 

Check out their photos below!

Area spellers compete in national bee

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