Nevadan out of spelling contest

Thursday, June 3, 2004 | 11:41 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON -- A word that means dispersal of organisms such as seeds by the wind spelled the dismissal of Nevada's lone entry in the Scripps National Spelling Bee today.

Shankari Rajagopal, 13, of Fallon, made it through the first four rounds but was tripped up in the fifth round early this morning.

After passing the written first round test, the eighth-grader correctly spelled keeshond in the second round, taciturnity in the third round and Svengali in the fourth round.

In the fifth round, Rajagopal was given the word "anemochore." She asked for the pronunciation, the definition and for the word to be used in a sentence, then in a soft but hesitant voice spelled it a-n-e-m-a-c-o-r-e.

Forty-six children were still in the running as the 2004 bee resumed competition today, the finals of the three-day event. But the fifth round proved rocky, as 20 spellers, including Rajagopal, stumbled, cutting the field nearly in half to 26.

Among the spellers who survived was Akshay Buddiga, 13, of Colorado Springs, Colo., who asked for definition, language of origin, part of speech, other pronunciations. His plan worked, as he calmly got "gruine," meaning belonging to or resembling the cranes.

Akshay's big brother, Pratyush, won the competition two years ago.

Among those eliminated was 10-year-old Samir Patel, who was considered a favorite and had been deemed a force to be reckoned with by last year's winner, Sai Gunturi. Samir, who finished tied for third in 2003, tried to break down "corposant," at one point asking the pronouncers, "Am I on the right track?"

But the fifth-grader from Colleyville, Texas, missed it by two letters.

Nine of the first 15 on stage advanced, acing such words as "xerostomia," "technetium," and "Weimaraner." The stumper words included "belonoid," "Nigerois," and "solipsistic."

The spellers were competing for a top package of $17,000 in cash and other prizes, including $12,000 and an engraved cup from the bee itself.

The field began with 265 spellers, the finalists from at least 9 million children who participated in local bees. Sun reporter

Ed Koch and the Associated Press contributed to this story.