Steenrod Elementary School Student Adam Connors Competes At Scripps National Spelling Bee
Trending
A Wheeling third-grader made it to the third round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week.
Adam Connors, a student at Steenrod Elementary School, successfully spelled "arthroscopy" on Wednesday afternoon at the bee in National Harbor, Maryland.
An arthroscopy is a minimally-invasive surgical procedure that involves examining the interior of a joint.
Despite spelling the word correctly onstage, Connors didn't make the cut for the bee's finals today. Fifty spellers out of several hundred were selected for the finals largely based on how they scored in a preliminary test.
During "Bee Week," Connors completed the preliminary test on Monday and passed the round two competition on Tuesday, where he correctly spelled the word "quittance." Quittance means a release or discharge from a debt or obligation.
Connors, 9, is one of the bee's younger spellers in a competition open through the eighth grade. Less than 2 percent of spellers at the national competition are in the third grade, with students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades making up the vast majority of participants, according to Scripps.
The finals involve two rounds that will start at 10:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. today and will be broadcast on ESPN.
In March, Connors won the regional spelling bee at Wheeling Jesuit University by correctly spelling "oriel," which means a projection from the wall of a building.
Ohio County Schools students took the top three awards at that bee, as Woodsdale Elementary School fourth-grader Audrey Kenamond placed second and Steenrod fourth-grader Urjit "Roop" Sau placed third.
According to Connors' profile on the bee's website, other words he spelled correctly in the regional competition included: sierra, herbivore, animosity, plateau and pacifism.
Connors' participation in the national bee was sponsored by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Results from the bee can be found at spellingbee.com.