Dakota and the Bee, Part Two

Two-time Nevada spelling bee champion Dakota Jones cleared the afternoon round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, correctly spelling “recidivist.”

Jones, 14, an eighth-grader at Hyde Park Middle School in Las Vegas, now must endure a brief wait as officials tally today’s results with Tuesday’s 25-word written exam to determine the 50 participants who will advance to tomorrow’s semi-finals.

Dressed in blue jeans and a short-sleeved shirt, Jones was confident he scored well enough on the written exam to reach the knockout stage Thursday. If so, he hopes to survive to the finals that will be televised live Thursday evening on ABC.

Jones, who reached the semifinals last year, is one of 71 returning competitors among the 275 participants in this year’s 84th annual Bee. The competition moved this year from downtown Washington, D.C., to National Harbor in neighboring Maryland.

Today’s two correct spellings – of “recidivist” and “garibaldi” give Jones six points that will be added to his results from the written exam yesterday. He will earn a point for each correctly spelled word. Jones believed he got 24 of 25 correct, but the actual results won’t be announced until after 5 p.m. EDT.

Jones was careful to take his time in spelling the words, asking Bee pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailly a series of questions.

Only until he had the definition, word origin and heard it used in a sentence did Jones venture his answer.

“I wanted to make sure I had the right word,” Jones explained.

Mike Jones, Dakota’s father, said his son was motivated to prepare even harder for this year’s competition after making the semifinals last year.

“The main thing he’s done is studied on his bus rides to school. He rides quite a way – 50 minutes to an hour each way,” Mike Jones said. “So that is a couple hours study time on the bus to and from school. And, after homework he tries to study a little bit more.”

Jones still has time for many other activities. He plays viola in the school’s orchestra and is working on becoming an Eagle Scout. He also participates in math competitions.