Spelling savants traced letters onto their palms or gazed at the ceiling on Wednesday while racking their brains in hopes of advancing to the next level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Most of the starting field of 562 challengers aged 7 to 15 easily aced common words such as "ambition" and "fatality" on the second of three days of competition to stay in the running for the $50,000 cash jackpot. But some tripped over "telenovela," "junket" and "gracility." "This year I think I have a good chance of winning ... but ultimately there's always luck involved," said Navneeth Murali, 13, of Edison, New Jersey. "I studied much harder this year because I learned that I had potential last year." Murali placed fifth at last year's national bee, taking home a $5,000 cash prize. On Wednesday, he correctly spelled the word "demolition" and was among 439 youths who had advanced by midday. The final round of the tournament in Maryland is on Thursday night and will be televised live on ESPN. Jackie Meador, 13, of Marbelton, Wyoming, was among those who made it to the second day of competition on Wednesday after correctly spelling "duomo," an Italian-originated word for cathedral, late on Tuesday. "It's kind of nerve-wracking," said Meador, who won his first spelling bee in third grade. "When I won the school bee and beat the fifth graders, I realized I might be good at it." Spellers had to ace everyday words, such as "intolerable" and "detrimental," with more obscure ones, such as "annus mirabilis" and "hibernaculum." This year's bee drew spelling aces from all 50 US states, US territories and six other countries — the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. Standing 4 feet 4 inches (1.32 m) tall, Akash Vukoti, 9, sparked smiles from fans on Tuesday afternoon when he commented on the microphone stand as it automatically lowered to his height. "I like this mic!" he exclaimed, before successfully spelling "ranunculus," a flowering plant, with seconds to spare. Vukoti, of San Angelo, Texas, tied for 323rd place last year. He is competing this year alongside his sister, Amrita Vukoti, 11. "Even before kids come to this bee, they are already winners because they have acquired a lot of knowledge," said their father, Krishna Vukoti, who enrolled his son in his first spelling bee at age 2. "It's a lot of dedication from our side, combined with his talents," he said. — Reuters
