Nevada teenager shined despite her elimination

WASHINGTON -- So this is how big the Scripps National Spelling Bee has become -- contestants are being asked for their autographs.

And the contestants don't think it's that big a deal.

As 13-year-old Cheyenne K. Lawrence of Silver Springs, Nev., scribbled away for a fan Thursday, she talked about sitting and waiting for 133 more contestants to take their turns in the oral competition.

"It was kind of relaxing because you know you got the word right, and you just kind of want to see what other words the spellers get," Lawrence said.

Lawrence correctly spelled "rigatoni," which is tubular pasta in short curved pieces.

Before spelling the word, Lawrence asked the judges if the origin of the word was Italian.

"It went from Germanic to Italian, then English," replied pronouncer Jacques Bailly, who is an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont.

With her arms folded underneath her placard numbered 154, Lawrence said the word before asking Bailly to repeat the definition and use rigatoni in a sentence.

Then the Nevada eighth-grader spelled the word, and waited for a brief moment to see if Bailly would correct her. When Bailly remained silent, the audience applauded as Lawrence returned to her seat on the front row.

But this would prove to be the end of Lawrence's participation in the 81st annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

She was eliminated by the formidable written spelling test administered earlier in the week.

The results of the written test were not released until after Thursday morning's oral competition.

Lawrence correctly spelled 14 of 25 words on the written test. With the three points she gained from spelling rigatoni correctly during the oral competition, Lawrence's total score was 17.

But to advance to the quarterfinals, she needed a total score of 20. Of the bee's 288 contestants, only 90 advanced.

After she learned she was eliminated, Lawrence searched for her mother, Brenda, in the massive crowd in the Grand Hyatt Hotel. When they found each other, Brenda gave her daughter a hug and a kiss.

Their hometown of Silver Springs is about 55 miles southeast of Reno, and Lawrence, who was sponsored by the Review-Journal, hopes to attend college on the California coast and become a marine biologist or meteorologist.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau reporter Tony Batt at tbatt@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.