Two-time San Diego County spelling champ Mihir Konkapaka made it to the quarterfinals of the national bee Wednesday before getting tripped up by “chessel,” a mold for cheese-making.
He spelled it “chestle.”
The 12-year-old from Sabre Springs wound up tied for 74th place out of 231 contestants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, held outside Washington, D.C. He was among 48 spellers eliminated in the fourth round.
This was the Mesa Verde Middle School seventh-grader’s second trip to the storied competition, which attracts spellers from across the country. Last year, he finished tied for 89th place after missing a word in the third round, “antiphonal.” It refers to something played or sung by two groups in turn.
He made it to the nationals both times by first winning the San Diego County Spelling Bee. (It is organized by The San Diego Union-Tribune, in partnership with the county Office of Education.)
In Tuesday’s opening round, Mihir correctly spelled “vexillologist,” a person who studies flags. In the second round, he handled a multiple-choice question about the meaning of “jingoism,” loud or arrogant nationalism. In the third round, he correctly spelled “vastation,” a renewal or purification through the burning away or destruction of evil attributes.
He was attempting to be the third speller from San Diego County to be crowned national champion. Anurag Kashyap, an eighth-grader from Meadowbrook Middle School in Poway, won the bee in 2005. Snigdha Nandipati, a Francis Parker School eighth-grader, captured the title in 2012.
Since it began in 1925, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has had six champions from California. Texas has had the most winners, 16, followed by Ohio with nine, Pennsylvania with eight, and Colorado and Tennessee with seven.
This year’s winner will be crowned Thursday night and will receive $50,000 in cash and other prizes. Mihir and the other quarter-finalists each receive a commemorative pin and a $100 gift card.
He has another year of eligibility if he chooses to compete again next year, when he will be in the eighth grade. Contestants can’t have passed beyond that grade level.