An eighth-grader from Maranatha Christian School in 4S Ranch advanced to the third round of Scripps National Spelling Bee on Tuesday at Constitution Hall in Washington.
Benjamin Reinhard correctly spelled micellar, an adjective that describes anything relating to or composed of micelles, which are tiny, self-assembling, spherical clusters of molecules, according to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. The word is most commonly used in chemistry and skincare.
In the second round, he was asked a vocabulary question, "Something described as serrated is?" and correctly chose "notched or toothed on the edge."
Reinhard will join the other spellers who advanced to the third round in taking a written test at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. The scores from the written test will determine who will advance to Wednesday's quarterfinals.
Under bee rules, spellers will be grouped by their number of correct answers. The number of spellers to advance will be determined by identifying the group whose minimum score results in as close to 100 quarterfinalists as possible.
Reinhard qualified for the national bee by winning the San Diego County Scripps Regional Spelling Bee in March, correctly spelling kenosis, the relinquishment of divine attributes by Jesus Christ in becoming human, in the 23rd round.
The 14-year-old's interests include reading, running track and cross-country, tinkering with computer-aided design, biking, theater and sketching, according to biographical information supplied by bee organizers. He is an automotive aficionado and aspires to design a car.
Reinhard has acted in multiple shows for his school theater program, including "The Wizard of Oz," "The Matchmaker" and "The Little Mermaid."' His favorite author is young adult novelist Alan Gratz, his favorite food is beef stroganoff and his favorite school subject is math.
The bee began with a field of 247 spellers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates and a Department of Defense School in Germany.
The bee is limited to students in eighth grade or below and who were born on Sept. 1, 2011 or later.
The bee will conclude Thursday. The winner will receive $50,000 from the Scripps National Spelling Bee, $2,500 and a reference library from Encyclopaedia Britannica, $400 in reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica, including a 1768 Encyclopedia Britannica replica set and a three- year membership to Britannica Online Premium, two-day admission for up to four people, a two-night hotel stay, astronaut meet & greet, and $350 in merchandise from the from Kennedy Space Center & Visitors Complex and $1,000 in flight credits from Delta Air Lines.
This is the first time the bee has been held in Washington since 2010. It was held there from its inception in 1925 through 2010. It was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, in National Harbor, Maryland from 2011 through 2025, except for 2020 when it was not held because of the coronavirus pandemic and 2021 when it was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort, near Orlando, Florida.
Tuesday's preliminaries will be streamed on Scripps Sports Network through noon Pacific Daylight Time. Wednesday's quarterfinals will be streamed on Scripps Sports Network from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and the semifinals from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The semifinals will be replayed on ION from 5 to 7 p.m.
Thursday's finals will air live on ION from 5 to 7 p.m.
San Diego County has produced two national spelling bee champions — Anurag Kashyap in 2005 and Snigdha Nandipati in 2012.
