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Indiana spellers eliminated before finals of Scripps National Spelling Bee

Two of the three Hoosiers were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and one ended his run in the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

INDIANAPOLIS — The final three Indiana students competing to become the nation's spelling champion were eliminated Wednesday ahead of Thursday's final round.

Achyut Ethiraj, a seventh grader at Maple Creek Middle School in Fort Wayne, was eliminated in Round 6 of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, finishing tied for 22nd place. His word was "pastis," which he misspelled as "pastisse."

Achyut tied for 14th in last year's competition.

Gavin Sigua, a seventh grader at Sycamore School in Indianapolis, and 10-year-old Sharanya Kar, a fifth grader at West Lafayette Middle School, were both eliminated in Round 4 Wednesday morning. Sigua's word was "nudicaul," which he misspelled as "nudicol," and Kar's word was "cognoscente," which she misspelled as "cagniacenti."

Credit: AP
Sharanya Kar, 10, from West Lafayette, Ind., left, and Gavin Sigua, 12, from Carmel, Ind., wait to compete during the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Three other Indiana spellers dropped out of the competition during the first round on Tuesday.

Reid Shaw, a sixth grader at University Elementary School in Bloomington, bowed out in the first round when he misspelled "sopapilla." Craig Ulrey, a seventh grader at Heritage Hall Christian School in Muncie, misspelled "whippoorwill," while Wes Cooper, a fifth grader at Kesling Intermediate School in La Porte, missed "draegerman."

The second round of competition in the preliminary round included multiple choice vocabulary questions. One incorrect answer is enough to eliminate a speller from the competition.

Sigua passed through three rounds spelling "graywacke" and "adroit." Kar's words have included "cataphora" and "trendoid," while Ethiraj has correctly spelled "Deseret" and "rectification." 

All three spellers answered their vocabulary question correctly in the second round. (Correct response in parentheses.):

Sigua: "A person who is contrite is:" (repentant)

Kar: "A funambulist is:" (a tightrope walker)

Ethiraj: "Something described as importunate is:" (troublesomely urgent)

Thursday's finals can be seen on ION beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

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