OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The Latest on the Scripps National Spelling Bee (all times local):
3 p.m.
Sixteen accomplished spellers have advanced to the prime-time finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, an unusually high number after a morning session that lasted 4½ hours.
The finals began with 41 spellers, and the number slowly dwindled over five rounds, but there was never a mass exodus from the stage. At one point in the second round, 21 consecutive kids spelled their words correctly.
Three spellers who made the top 10 last year still have a chance to repeat that accomplishment: Erin Howard, Naysa Modi and Shruthika Padhy.
Tara Singh, making her fifth and final appearance in the bee, will go to the prime-time finals for the first time.
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9 a.m.
The dramatic final rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee are set to begin.
Forty-one spellers advanced to Thursday's finals out of a field of 516 — by far the largest in the 93-year history of the competition. Scripps started a wild-card program this year that created a path to nationals for spellers who didn't win their regional bees, and some of the finalists got to the bee that way.
The past 13 champions and 18 of the last 22 have been Indian-American, and that trend could easily continue. Most of the consensus favorites in this year's bee have Indian heritage.