The Latest on the National Spelling Bee (all times local):
11:50 a.m.
Ten spellers have been eliminated after the opening round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals.
There were few major surprises in the round, which included mostly words that spellers were able to piece together through their Greek and Latin roots.
Several spellers who’ve made deep runs in past years remain, including Shruthika Padhy of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Abhijay Kodali of Flower Mound, Texas; Sohun Sukhatankar of Dallas; and Erin Howard of Huntsville, Alabama.
Roughly a dozen spellers will advance to the prime-time finals. The winner receives more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.
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10 a.m.
The finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee have begun, with 50 kids on stage competing for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes and a new, custom-designed trophy.
This year’s bee had the biggest field ever, with 562 spellers, more than half of whom got in through Scripps’ wild-card program. Last year was the first time that wild cards were allowed into the bee, and the eventual champion was a wild card.
Thursday’s finalists include nine spellers who finished in at least a tie for 10th last year. The field will be narrowed to about a dozen spellers in the morning and early afternoon before the prime-time finals on ESPN.
The last 14 champions and 19 of the past 23 have been Indian-American.