Nevada champion out of bee

Thursday, June 1, 2000 | 10:23 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada's sole participant in the National Spelling Bee survived two rounds, then fell in the third, misspelling "comradeliness."

Elko Junior High School eighth grader Derek Boge, 13, spelled the word "comradliness." He lasted two rounds, correctly spelling "stertorous" and "predilection."

The annual bee, sponsored by media company Scripps Howard, is now in its 73rd year.

The competition winnows 248 fourth to eighth grade spellers to one champion in a single-mistake elimination format.

The bee began Wednesday and concludes today. Nevada has never had a national spelling bee champion.

Last year's winner, Nupur Lala of Tampa, Fla., won on the word "logorrhea."

One hundred and thirty-eight children were eliminated from the 73rd bee on Wednesday after 10 hours of quizzing. The youngsters, ages 9 to 15, fielded 597 words on the first day of the two-day competition, organizers said.

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