LA 7th grader advanced to National Spelling Bee Finals

LA 7th grader competing in National Spelling Bee Finals

Oliver Halkett advanced to the finals in National Harbor, Maryland by correctly spelling five words and providing the right answers for two vocabulary questions during Wednesday's quarterfinals and semifinals, including gobbe -- a groundnut from the tropical African Bambarra herb -- in the day's final round.

LOS ANGELES - A seventh grader from The Mirman School in Bel Air made the late rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Faizan Zaki, a teen from Texas, ended up winning the competition, but it doesn't mean Bel Air's Oliver Halkett didn't do Los Angeles County proud.

Zaki and Halkett were among the nine finalists on Thursday.

What we know:

Oliver Halkett advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals after correctly spelling five words, including "gobbe," "polymorphism," "opihi," "mashlum," and "aeolight." 

He also correctly answered two vocabulary questions, defining "gingerly" as "with extreme care" and "juggernaut" as "a massive, crushing force." 

Halkett was be among nine spellers competing in the finals.

Timeline:

• Tuesday: Halkett began the preliminaries by correctly spelling "becquerel" and defining "toilsome" as "characterized by tiring work." He then advanced to the quarterfinals after scoring high enough on a written test.
• Wednesday: Halkett competed in the quarterfinals and semifinals, correctly spelling several words and answering vocabulary questions to secure his spot in the finals. The field was reduced from 99 to 57 spellers in the quarterfinals and then to 35, and finally to 19, before the final nine spellers were determined.
• Thursday: Halkett fell to Zaki in the finals.

The backstory:

This is Halkett's second consecutive year competing in the national bee. 

In 2024, he reached the fourth round, tying for 60th place among 89 spellers. 

Halkett qualified for this year's national bee by winning the Los Angeles County Regional Spelling Bee in April, where he correctly spelled "diazepam" to conclude the 16-round competition. 

The Scripps National Spelling Bee itself has a rich history, with the first national bee held on June 17, 1925, marking its 100th anniversary this year. 

This is the 97th edition of the bee, with cancellations in 1943, 1944, and 1945 due to World War II, and in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Six Californians have previously won the national bee, the most recent being Rishik Gandhasri of San Francisco in 2019.

Local perspective:

Halkett represents Los Angeles County in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Another contestant from Los Angeles County, sixth grader Kamya Balaji from Notre Dame Academy, did not score high enough on the written test to qualify for the quarterfinals, tying for 100th place. Kamya had qualified for the national bee by finishing second in the Los Angeles County bee. 

The lone speller from Orange County, seventh grader Sydney Tran from El Rancho Charter School, also tied for 100th place after not scoring high enough on the written test.