Local speller eliminated in 2nd round of bee

By RENA MALAI, For the News & Messenger
Published: May 29, 2008

From the early morning hours of Thursday, the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C., resembled a mass school gymna-sium as 288 national and international children aged 8 to 14 buzzed around with nervous parents in tow preparing to embark on the preliminary spelling round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Tension was running high, but humor was not lost on a few spellers who managed to retain their personalities in the glare of the spotlight and before an audience of hundreds.

"Wow" contestant number 25, Easun Arunachalam, said of his given word—hydrotropism,  oriented growth in response to water. "That's a really good word."

And Woodbridge's own speller, 12-year-old Graham Park Middle School student Marie Mach, made sure that her stage presence did not go unnoticed.

"Can you put that in a song?" she asked pronouncer Jacques A. Bailly when he gave her the word "espousal," a taking up or adopting as a cause or belief, to spell.

"Sorry, I don't have a very good singing voice," Bailly responded.

Although Mach did not get a chance to go further, she and her father were in high spirits as they filed out of the Independence ballroom where the contest is being held.

"I was proud of her before she even went in there," Robert Mach said.

"It was a lot of pressure to get up there and I was so nervous when I had to spell my word," Marie said. "I was number 276 so I had a long time to wait. I had a lot of fun, but I'm also glad it's over."

After a lunch break, Mach was going to return to view the 99 contestants that made it through to the quarterfinals. "I'd like to stay around for a little while and cheer my friends on," she said.

Although the contest is finished for Mach, she doesn't plan on permanently hanging up her spelling bee hat. She will be back next year, she says.

Contestants successfully completing the quarter finals will compete in the semifinals Friday at 11 a.m. The champi-onship finals will then take place at 8 p.m. later that day.

The bee is being televised live on the ESPN cable channel thi

afternoon and the finals will be broadcast on the ABC tonight.

This was the 30th year for the Prince William Bee, which is sponsored by the Potomac News, the Manassas Journal Messenger and the Bel Air Woman's Club.

The local champion received an all expense-paid trip to the national bee provided by the Potomac News and the Manassas Journal Messenger. Prizes include Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, from Merriam-Webster and a $100 savings bond donated by iStar Financial Chief Executive Officer Jay Sugarman in honor of his father, Samuel Louis Sugarman.

The winner will also receive a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, a $100 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online donated by Encyclopedia Britannica.

The local runner-up received Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, from Merriam-Webster, a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate, a $50 gift card from Barnes & Noble from the Bel Air Woman's Club and a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online donated by Encyclopedia Britannica.

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