Culver City Seventh Grader Advances At Scripps National Spelling Bee

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A local seventh-graders have advanced to the semifinals of the nation's biggest spelling bee.

Cooper Komatsu, who attends Culver City Middle School, correctly spelled amarillo – a noun referring to any of several tropical American timber trees -- and nockerl -- an Austrian souffle -- during the second and third rounds of the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland.

Sarika Rau, a student at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine, correctly spelled triumvirate – a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals -- and factitious, and adjective meaning artificially created or developed. But her overall score, which included the results of a multiple-choice spelling and vocabulary test taken Tuesday, fell short of what was needed to advance to the semifinals at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

Komatsu is one of 49 contestants to reach the semifinals, which will be held Thursday.

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