SAN DIEGO, June 02, 2005
NRI Eighth-grader Anurag Kashyap, of Poway, Calif.,
became the U.S. spelling champ Thursday, beating out
272 other spellers in a tough two days of competition.
Students and teachers at Meadowbrook said they weren't
surprised by Kashyap's win. Before he left for Washington
D.C., the straight-A student expressed confidence
that he would walk away the victor.
"He really takes it seriously," said Meadowbrook
Middle School teacher Michael Billings. "He'll
go into the dictionary and pop up words, find the
origin and the meaning. We'll try to catch him if
we can. "
"He's been studying until 12 o'clock every night,
with his dictionary and his CD," one Meadowbrook
student said.
Thursday was the second and final day of the 78th
annual National Scripps Spelling Bee. On Wednesday,
222 spellers were eliminated from an original field
of 273.
NRI Kashyap won in the 19th round of the contest
by correctly spelling "appoggiatura," a
melodic tone. He will take home $28,000 in cash, scholarships
and bonds, plus books from Encyclopedia Britannica.
Kashyap tied for 47th in last year's spelling bee.
That experience "helped me to know what I should
study to ... like, win this thing," he said afterward,
repeatedly hiding his face behind his cardboard number.
Tied for second place were 11-year-old Samir Patel,
who is home-schooled in Colleyville, Texas, and Aliya
Deri, 13, a Pleasanton, Calif., student.
Deri was tripped up in the 18th round by "trouvaille,"
meaning windfall. Just after, Patel fell to "Roscian,"
meaning skilled in acting. Two years ago, when Patel
tied for third place, bee winner Sai Gunturi said
he would be a force to be reckoned with in future
contests.
The spelling bee is administered by E.W. Scripps
Co. The contestants all won local contests sponsored
by newspapers.
