A Colorado speller was bested by tacos Wednesday morning.
Blanche Li, an eighth-grader from Boulder’s Summit Middle School, incorrectly spelled “taqueria” — a Mexican restaurant specializing especially in tacos — during the sixth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee outside Washington, D.C.
The 14-year-old, sponsored by the Boulder Valley School District, was knocked out of the competition.
Ved Raju, a 12-year-old in seventh grade at Aurora Quest K-8 school who is sponsored by The Denver Post, nailed his sixth-round word “apoptosis,” which means “a genetically directed process of cell self-destruction,” according to Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Fewer than 60 of the best kid spellers in the country remained standing in the Bee as of Wednesday morning as spelling rounds continued.
More than 240 spellers started the competition Tuesday; finals are set for Thursday.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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Originally Published: May 28, 2025 at 10:11 AM MDT
