El Pasoan Gets Word Right, Still Eliminated In National Spelling Bee

El Paso’s Spelling Bee champ spelled her Round 3 word correctly in the oral competition at the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday afternoon but was still eliminated.

Abigail Spitzer correctly spelled imprecatory. She was eliminated based on not accumulating enough points during the written and oral parts of the competition.

“For each correct spelling offered by a speller in Rounds Two and Three, the speller earns three points that count toward his Preliminaries score,” the rules state. “It is possible for a speller to earn up to 31 points in the Preliminaries: 25 points on the Round One test plus 3 points for a correct spelling in Round Two plus 3 points for a correct spelling in Round Three. Immediately after the conclusion of Round Three, Bee officials determine Semifinalists on the basis of points earned in the Preliminaries. No more than 50 spellers will be named Semifinalists.”

Abigail, a sixth-grader, correctly spelled masala in Round 2 of the oral competition.

The semifinals will take place on Friday with the finals televised live on ABC-7 on Friday evening.