Mississippi eighth-grader makes it to national spelling bee finals before being tripped up
Published 9:54 pm Thursday, May 30, 2019
A Mississippi eighth-grader made the Magnolia State proud by advancing deep into the final rounds of the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night before being tripped up by the word hieracium.
Yolanda Ni, an eighth-grader from Oak Grove, near Hattiesburg, made it to the 11th round of the competition before the alternative word for hawkweed was too much for her.
To Ni’s credit our own spellchecker didn’t think the word was spelled correctly.
Way to go, Ni, you’ve made Mississippi proud.
Ni was the third finalist eliminated in the second round.