How Far Did Georgia Student Go in Spelling Bee?

The final competition comes later today at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but Georgia’s lone contestant was knocked off in the semifinals Thursday morning.

Twelve finalists will move on to tonight’s final round, where they will hopefully keep calm and spell on.

Georgia semifinalist Sumedh S. Garimella, an eighth-grader at Richard Hull Middle School in Duluth, sponsored by the Georgia Association of Educators, had no trouble spelling “gelid” in round 5 and “vaporetto” in round 6.

Of the 31 students left at the end of the semifinals, only the 12 with the highest combination scores from both on-stage and computerized test scores advanced to the championships.

Unfortunately, Garimella’s score did not make the cut. He will not be competing in the championship rounds later today.

The Championship Finals will broadcast live on ESPN on Thursday, May 29 from 8 to 10 p.m.

Aside from being named the spelling bee champion of 2014 and bragging rights, here’s what the super-spellers are competing for:

• From Scripps, a $30,000 cash prize and the Scripps National Spelling Bee engraved trophy.
• From Merriam-Webster, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and a complete reference library
• From Encyclopædia Britannica, $1,200 of reference works including the Britannica Global Edition, 1768 Encyclopædia Britannica Replica Set Deluxe Edition, 3-year membership to Britannica Online Premium and Britannica World Atlas