WASHINGTON - Jonathan Horton opened the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee with his usual quirky routine, whispering the letters into his hand as he spelled his word. This time, it didn't help.
The 14-year-old boy from Gilbert, Ariz., a favorite this year after a sixth-place finished last year, couldn't get a handle on the pronunciation of "girolle," going back and forth a dozen or so times with pronouncer Jacques Bailly before attempting the word - a type of mushroom.
Finally, he gave it a try with "g-i-r-o-l," and with that he was eliminated and given a rare standing ovation from his fellow competitors.
Jonathan was one of 15 youngsters contending for the title of nation's best speller Thursday night, when the increasingly difficult words were stumping even the cream of the crop. Tia Thomas, 12, of Coarsegold, Calif., competing for the fourth time, misspelled "zacate" (a grassy plant) and had to settle for a big hug from her father and a seat on his lap as the competition continued.
A startling eight spellers were eliminated from the first round of the finals, leaving just seven on the lonely right side of the Grand Hyatt ballroom stage. One of those surviving was 13-year-old Nate Gartke of Spruce Grove, Alberta, who spelled "partitur" (a musical score) and heard cheers from supporters waving Canadian flags.
The spellers were competing for a trophy and $35,000 in cash, plus a $5,000 scholarship, a $2,500 savings bond and a set of reference works. The day began with 59 spellers remaining from the record 286 who started the competition Wednesday.
The first bit of humor in the finals came from Joseph Henares, who exclaimed, "Oh, my God," when he was given the word "punaise." When told it was a bedbug, the 14-year-old boy from Avon, Conn., replied, "I like bedbug better." His eyes grew huge when told he had spelled it without a flaw.
Connor Spencer, 14, of Platte City, Mo., was even more astounded when he correctly spelled "helzel" (a poultry skin). Connor's style involved whispering the letters behind his placard before speaking them aloud.
Fourth-time bee participant Matthew Evans, 12, of Albuquerque, N.M., who wants to be a pastor someday, conquered the word "genizah," a storeroom in a synagogue.
With the finals on ABC in prime time for the second consecutive year, the bee again had to play the foil to the trappings of television. Spectators were asked to perform a contrived standing ovation at the start of the telecast, with the spellers standing onstage with goofy grins while waving to the audience.
At one point a cameraman said to the spellers, "Everybody laugh," as he lined up a particular shot, and much of the competition was spent idly waiting for long commercial breaks to end.
If Joseph and Connor appeared surprised at spelling their words correctly, the shock was nothing to close to the stunning moment several hours earlier, when perennial favorite Samir Patel was eliminated in his fifth and final bee. Samir, who last week likened the prospect of not winning to "Dan Marino not winning the Super Bowl," had the audience gasping in disbelief when he misspelled "clevis."
The 13-year-old Texan spelled out the word for a type of fastening device as "c-l-e-v-i-c-e." After placing third, 27th, second and 14th in his previous bees, he ended his bee career with a tie for 34th. Like Hall of Fame quarterback Marino, Samir will go down as one of the greatest at his craft never to win the big prize.
Samir wiped away tears as he talked about his gaffe.
"The first thing I thought was c-l-e-v-i-s, and if I had been slow and cautious like I always am, I would have got it right," he said. "But I just outsmarted myself. It was an easy word. I just made a stupid mistake."
Samir's mother, Jyoti, appealed his dismissal, based on subtle differences in the way the word's final syllable could be pronounced. Officials interrupted the following round to replay pronouncer Bailly's exchange with Samir, and later announced that the appeal had been denied.
"In the end, I think I said it right," Bailly said. "I really wanted him to get it right, and I'm really sorry that he or his family have some questions about it."
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On the Net:
Scripps National Spelling Bee: http://www.spellingbee.com
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