UPDATE: Corona's Aisha Randhawa Advances to Closing Round of National Spelling Bee

UPDATED 4:30pm THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019  CORONA (CNS) - An eighth-grader from Corona was among 16 spellers advancing to the closing portion of the 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee, correctly spelling five words today.
   Aisha Randhawa correctly spelled epicede, a funeral song or ode, in the fourth round; kahili, a long pole decorated at one end with a cluster offeather plumes and used as a ceremonial emblem in Hawaii, in the fifth; thelytokous, an adjective meaning producing only females, in the sixth;   chylocaulous, an adjective meaning having fleshy or succulent stems, used to describe cacti and similar plants, in the seventh; and lesche, a social gathering place of classical antiquity in the eighth.
   The bee is set to resume at 5:30 p.m. PDT at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.
   The finals began Thursday with 50 spellers. The field was reduced to
40 following the fourth round, 34 following the fifth, 29 following the sixth
and 25 following the seventh.
   To reach the finals, contestants had to correctly spell two words on
stage and score high enough on a spelling and vocabulary test.
   Aisha correctly spelled both of the words she was given Tuesday --
agua fresca, a beverage consisting of water and sugar with fruits, grains or
seeds added for flavoring, in the second round, and redoubtable, an adjective
meaning causing fear or alarm, in the third round.
   Aisha and her 562 fellow competitors took a multiple-choice test with
12 spelling words and 14 vocabulary questions on Monday. The test is considered
the bee's first round.
   The finalists are determined by the test scores of the spellers who
correctly spelled their third-round words. The finals are limited to a maximum
of 50 spellers. Spellers' scores are plotted on a chart beginning at 36.
Spellers at each consecutive scoring level are added until no more than 50
spellers are attained.
   Spellers received one point for each of the 12 items correctly
identified in the spelling portion of the test, one point for each of the 12
items correctly identified in the initial vocabulary section, three points for
a correct answer to the lone item in the second vocabulary section, and three
points for a correct answer to the lone item in the third vocabulary section.
   The lowest score to advance to the finals was 30.
   Aisha is among seven spellers in the national bee making their fourth
or fifth appearances. Her seventh-place tie last year is the fourth-highest
past finish among spellers in the original field.
   Aisha was eliminated in the 11th round of last year's bee when she
misspelled perduellion, a noun meaning treason, omitting the second L. She tied
for 22nd place in the 2016 bee and tied for 35th in the 2017 bee.
   This is Aisha's final bee because it is limited to students in eighth
grade or below. Contestants for the 92nd edition of the national bee ranged in
age from 7 to 15.
   The 13-year-old qualified for the national bee by winning the
Riverside County Spelling Bee for a record fourth consecutive time.
   Aisha said she thoroughly enjoys ``learning of all kinds'' and loves
performing in the Auburndale Intermediate School jazz band, for which she plays
the piano and alto saxophone. She said she has fun with her siblings and
friends playing board games and exploring the outdoors.
   The original field consisted of spellers from all 50 states and the
District of Columbia, along with American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands and Department of Defense schools in Europe. Seven foreign
nations were also represented -- the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Jamaica,
Japan and South Korea.
   The winner will receive a record $50,000 cash prize, $10,000 more than
last year, from Scripps, which owns television stations and newspapers.
   The winner also receives $2,500 and a complete reference library from
the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster; reference works and a three-year
online membership from Encyclopedia Britannica, plus trips to Hollywood to
appear on the ABC late-night program ``Jimmy Kimmel Live'' and New York City to
appear on the syndicated morning talk show ``Live with Kelly and Ryan.''
   The bee is intended ``to inspire children to improve their spelling,
increase their vocabularies and develop correct English usage that will help
them all their lives,'' according to Paige Kimble, the bee's executive director
and 1981 champion.
   A speller from Riverside County has never won the bee.