A tricky ballet maneuver got the best of Akron Beacon Journal-sponsored speller Owen Kovalik on Thursday at the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in National Harbor, Md.
In the Bee’s fourth round, Owen was given the word “chaîné” and spelled it c-h-e-n-e-t — eliminating the Medina Christian Academy seventh-grader in his second straight appearance at the competition.
At the round’s start, Owen was one of 45 students remaining from a field of 285, and as a finalist will receive a $500 gift card.
Fellow finalist Shiv Dewan, an eighth-grader at St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School in Louisville, correctly spelled “ptilopod” in the fourth round, “pochoir” in the fifth and “obumbrant” in the sixth — but went out on “somma,” a volcanic term, in the seventh round. He spelled it s-a-m-m-a, leaving a field of just 11 left to compete.
ESPN2 is broadcasting Thursday’s early rounds; spellers who reach the final rounds will face off against each other at 8 p.m. on ESPN.