STYLE 1: LR eighth-grader ends up seventh-best speller

She stumbles on Mexican word ‘huapango

By Alex Daniels

CORRECTION: Samia Nawaz of Little Rock tied with three others for fourth place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which ended Friday in Washington, D.C. Samia also won $2,250. An article Saturday about her accomplishment incorrectly stated where she placed and how much money she won.

WASHINGTON - Samia Nawaz breezed through the first three words in the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Friday but tripped up on “huapango” - a style of Mexican music and dance - and finished seventh.

A Little Rock student who tied for 95th place last year, Samia was one of 288 competitors in the 84th annual contest, which was held in Washington.

Samia was the first contestant to march onstage at the competition. She walked to the microphone, and in front of a live television audience on ABC, listened for her first word: “bowdlerize.”

“Can I have the language of origin, please,” she asked. The word, which means to remove matter that is considered vulgar, comes from Thomas Bowdler, a 19th-century British editor.

Samia breezed through that one, confidently spelled “monogoneutic” (having only one brood per season) and put away “escabeche” (fried fish first marinated in an acidic mixture) before getting stuck on huapango, which is named after a region in Mexico.

Samia, an eighth-grader at The Anthony School who plans to attend Central High in the fall, said she spent a lot more time over the past year studying languages, to try to get a bettergrasp of words’ roots.

“I’m really happy,” the 13-year-old said. “My goal was to get into the finals.”

The trouble she encountered was that huapango is derived from a geographic region in Mexico, and there isn’t a “specific pattern” for the spelling of Mexican words, she said.

After each word, even the one that took her out of the competition, Samia remained poised. There was no fist-pumping on the ones she got right, and no tears when a bell indicated she spelled huapango incorrectly, starting it with the letter w.

As for going first, Samia said it wasn’t a problem.

“I had less time to be nervous,” she said.

Samia finished higher than any Arkansan since 1995. That’s when Justin Tyler Carroll of Wynne was national champion.

After watching the first of 45 semifinal contestants err Thursday, Samia ticked off the correct letters for “amylolysis,” the conversion of starch into soluble products like sugars.

Then, after 21 other spellers dropped out, she quickly nailed “advocaat,” which is a type of eggnog.

And, as she led off the contest’s seventh round, Samiarattled off “pyrrhotism.” That’s the characteristic of having red hair.

In addition to bragging rights, the champion - this year it was 13-year-old Sameer Mishra of West Lafayette, Ind. - walked away with $37,500 in cash and savings bonds and a reference library valued at more than $3,800. There’s also a trophy. Sameer’s winning word was “guerdon,” which means “something that one has earned or gained.”

For reaching the finals, Samia won $750 in cash.

Spelling enthusiasts were closely watching the bee and figured that five-time attendees Matthew Evans of Albuquerque, N.M., and Tia Thomas of Coarsegold, Calif., stood among thebest having chances to win.

But only one of them moved on Friday afternoon to the finals. Tia wound up third.

Matthew, who had studied his own personal 30,000-word list, was stumped by “secernent,” a word dealing with secretion. He guessed at the spelling, ending it with “ant.”

Then he heard the dreaded bell that signals a misspelling, he lowered his head and slowly walked offstage, receiving a rare standing ovation as he did. He stayed in the comfort room for more than a half-hour, his eyes still red when he emerged.

“It’s disappointing,” said Matthew, choking back tears. As an eighth-grader, this was his last year of eligibility.

The 13-year-old then walked to his mother for a long hug.

After Samia missed her word, Morgan Brown a seventh-grader from Dearborn, Mo., who didn’t get past the first round, rushed up to the stage and asked for an autograph. The spellers were given “beekeeper” books with pictures of each contestant.

Samia wrote “Good Job!” in Brown’s book and noted on her page that she is a huge fan of the Harry Potter book series.

Good job, indeed. The 288 spellers qualified from a nationwide pool of 11 million students who participated in local bees.

Frank Neuhauser, 94, won at the first bee in 1925. He told the crowd things were easier back then. “I’d never make it now.”

His winning word? “Gladiolus.”

Information for this article was contributed by Matthew S.L. Cate of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Joseph White of The Associated Press.