Vindy's Bee champ spells first 2 words, but test holds her back

May 28, 2014 at 10:55p.m.

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD.

Vindicator Regional Spelling Bee Grand Champion Annabelle Day spelled both words correctly in the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s first day of live competition, but the written test kept her from advancing to the semifinals.

Annabelle, 12, a seventh-grader at Willow Creek Learning Center in Boardman, correctly spelled “narcissistic” and “Valkyrian” in the bee today. To qualify for semifinals though, contestants had to perform well on the preliminary computer tests administered Tuesday.

That tested both spelling and vocabulary. Annabelle didn’t know what questions she missed but believed the vocabulary portion kept her from advancing.

Read the complete story in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.