Zander Reed
The two young Iowans who qualified for this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. were both knocked out today in round 2.
The competition was broadcast on ESPN3. Zander Reed, a 13-year-old from Ames, was handed the word “pucellas”.
It’s a plural noun; “a tool resembling tongs or shears for handling and shaping molten glass.” Zander misspelled pucellas as P-U-C-E-L-L-U-S.
This marked the fourth straight year that Zander competed in the National Spelling Bee. Bryan Keck, a 14-year-old from Dubuque, was also eliminated in the second round by the work “balisaur”. It’s a large, short-legged, hog-nosed badger.
Bryan Keck
Balisaur is spelled with one “L,” but Keck misspelled it with two. Keck is an 8th grader at Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School in Dubuque. He also competed in the National Spelling Bee last year.
The finals of the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee are Thursday.