Ousted local speller looks toward next bee
Saturday, June 5, 2010
02:52 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHWASHINGTON -- Nicholas Rushlow already is vowing a return. Less than an hour after being eliminated yesterday in the semifinals of the Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee, Rushlow, 12, of Pickerington, said because he was a sixth-grader, he would still "have two more years, so I'm going to use them." "I'm going to come back and try again," said Rushlow, who attends Harmon Middle School in Pickerington. Rushlow sailed through Wednesday's written exams and Thursday's preliminary rounds to reach the coveted semifinals - joining 48 spellers from the original field of 273 from across the country, South Korea, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, China and Japan. But then on his first word yesterday, devant, he missed. It quickly became apparent that Rushlow was unfamiliar with the word, which means "to the front." He asked the contest pronouncer the language of origin. He wanted to know if there were any other pronunciations. He said the word over and over and asked if he was pronouncing it correctly. Then, he took a stab: D-I-V-O-N. The dreaded bell rang to signal that he missed, and Rushlow left the stage to applause from the crowd and other contestants. "I'd never heard of that word, ever, before," he said. His mother, Michelle, noting that Nicholas practiced as much as 30 hours every week, said he "could spell every word up there" except the one he was asked. "He worked so hard," she said. "As soon as I heard it, I had a bad feeling." Yet despite missing the word, Rushlow said he had fun in Washington this week with his parents. And he made clear he set a goal for himself: "Do your best."
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