NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The final night of the Scripps National Spelling Bee was packed with repeat visitors and potential dynasties, but no one saw Snehaa Ganesh Kumar advancing as far as she did.
The Folsom Middle School seventh grader tied for fourth place with her correct spelling of “bouillabaisse” and “Hippocrene.”
Snehaa sailed through the preliminaries and semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday. Though slightly less visible than some of the other known contenders, Snehaa proved a diligent and intelligent competitor.
“It was really good for the first time here and to get fourth is really great,” said Snehaa, 12, of Folsom.
Vijaya Ganesh Kumar, Snehaa’s mother, who’s been a part of her daughter’s journey at the national bee, said she couldn’t be prouder of how Snehaa fared.
“I mean fourth in 11 million,” said Ganesh Kumar, hugging her daughter as she sat next to her watching the rest of the bee, “she did really good.”
Snehaa’s first word of the championship finals, “bouillabaisse,” is a traditional soup from southern France.
Her second word was “Hippocrene,” a source of poetic inspiration in ancient Greek mythology, taken from the eponymous spring of Mount Helicon.
But her third word, “oflag,” was the one that ended her spectacular run for the national title. It means a German prison camp for officers.
Snehaa approached the microphone as just five other spellers remained in their seats behind her. She received her word and repeated it. She asked for the definition, the language of origin and for it to be used in a sentence, all before beginning to spell.
“Oflag,” began Snehaa. “A-U-F-L-A-H-G.”
Although the incorrect spelling disqualified her from the title, Snehaa’s achievements still put her in an elite group ahead of 11 million other spellers who began the race for the National Spelling Bee with classroom-level competitions in the fall.
It marked the first time a speller sponsored by The Sacramento Bee has made it this far since 1988, when Rageshree Ramachandran took home the national title with the word “elegiacal,” an adjective used to describe the tone of an elegy.
Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalam became this year’s Scripps co-champions after many rounds of back and forth competition. The final words, spelled without a stumble: “scherenschnitte” and “nunatak.”
But Snehaa’s mother still sees her daughter as a champion.
“I respect their brilliance and I’m happy for my daughter and very proud of her,” said Ganesh Kumar.
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