Illinois' Top Spellers Off to W-A-S-H-I-N-G-T-O-N

By Andrew Peerless in News on Mar 17, 2005 3:16PM

Chicagowist wood like to congratchalate local stoodents Phillip Acevedo and Theodore Yuan. After scoring major victoreys at qualifying compatishins in Chicago and Lincolnshire yesturday, Acevedo and Yuan will head to Washington Joon 1 and 2 to reprezent the Chicagoland area in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Jesus, enough of that... that was totally exhausting.

Seriously, the National Spelling Bee is a huge deal and one hell of an intense event, rife with fierce competition and unprecedented dedication by competitors, some of whom are still in grade school. At 14 and 12, respectively, Acevedo and Yuan are practically middle-aged on the spelling bee circuit.

Acevedo, an 8th grader at Frances Xavier Warde School in the West Loop, survived four sudden death rounds and beat out 19 competitors by spelling "supernumerary" correctly. Yuan, a Wright Junior High student who estimates his spelling vocabulary at 10,000 words, aced the surburban competition with the word "hyperborean." Chicagoist wishes them both the best of luck in showing those other kids that, when it comes to spelling, Illinois' got it goin' on!

Those unfamiliar with the freakish intesity of the spelling bee world should run-not-walk to their local video store and check out Spellbound, a nail-biting documentary that follows eight diverse teenagers as they shoot for victory in the national competition. And try not to laugh at some of these kids... they're people, too.