An Arlington teen came just a few letters short of victory Thursday night at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Charlotte Walsh, 14, survived through to the 14th round of the linguistic skirmish at National Harbor, besting nine other hopefuls.
In the end, it came down to Walsh and Floridian Dev Shah, 14.
Shah got “bathypitotmeter” — which, for the record, is a word Chrome doesn’t know what to do with — meaning an “instrument designed to record the current velocity and water temperature at indicated depths below the surface of a sea or lake,” per Merriam-Webster.
The Florida teen nailed his word quickly, with one commentator musing that it might have been “a record for the fastest spelling ever.”
Walsh was given the word “daviely,” described as “an adverb, it is from a part that may be from English-derived Scots … plus an English combining form. Daviely means listlessly. It’s used in Scotland.”
To which Walsh responded: “Oh, my God,” eliciting chuckles from the audience.
She gave it a shot, spelling it D-A-E-V-I-L-I-C-K, seemingly mishearing the word.
Shah’s success in spelling “psammophile” — a critter that likes sandy soils or areas — in the 15th round sealed Walsh’s second-place fate.
But there were no hard feelings on display. Walsh was quick to give Shah a hug before he celebrated his win.
Shah took home a $50,000 cash prize from Scripps, while Walsh, who represented the Fairfax County Council PTA, took home $25,000. Third-place winner Surya Kapu of Utah won $12,500.
For Walsh, it was her third time at the National Spelling Bee.
The spelling bee started out with 229 spellers, with five from Northern Virginia. Oviya Amalraj, 12, of Leesburg, was a semifinalist and finished 22nd.
Siya Sampath, 9, of Manassas, was one of four 9-year-olds in the competition. She tied for 57th place.
Luke DiMaso, 14, of Fredericksburg, finished in a tied position, at 74th, while Ruby Kadera, 13, of Arlington, finished tied for 122nd. place.
Featured photo courtesy ION Television
For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine’s News newsletter.
