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Obscure fish and legal term knock out local spellers

Two students from the Philadelphia region advanced to the final rounds Thursday in the Sripps National Spelling Bee, but fell short of capturing the best speller title.

Two students from the Philadelphia region advanced to the final rounds Thursday in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but fell short of capturing the best speller title.

Shruthika Padhy, of Cherry Hill, was eliminated when she incorrectly spelled the word "tyee," (a type of fish).

Padhy, 10, is a fifth grader at Bret Harte Elementary School in Cherry Hill, N.J. She was sponsored by the school.

She was interviewed by Scripps after her elimination and asked what she learned from the experience. She said: "It was amazing. It's always good to hope and try your best."

Her classmates and school staff watched the competition Thursday, said Principal Neil Burti. Padhy will get a hero's welcome when she returns next week, he said.

"She really did have a good run," Burti said. "It doesn't take way from what she accomplished. We couldn't be more proud."

Like Padhy, Aditi Sridhar, of Glen Mills, Pa., was also eliminated in the fourth round when she spelled the word "batonnier," (chief of the advocates of a court) incorrectly.

Sridhar, 13, is an eighth-grader at Garnet Valley Middle School. An aspiring lawyer, was sponsored by The Chester Spirit in Delaware County.

Two other local students were eliminated in earlier rounds: Aakash Narayan, 13, a seventh grader at Great Valley Middle in Malvern, Pa., and Saif Siddiquee, 13, a seventh grader at Penn Alexander in Philadelphia.

Sadhy and Sridhar were among a field of 45 finalists who advanced Thursday in the 89th Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

The annual competition began Tuesday with 285 contestants who had to pass written exams and compete in rounds of oral spellings.

Ten finalists were competing Thursday at 8 p.m. for the championship. The top prize is $40,000; second-place $30,000, third-place $20,000, fourth-place $10,000 and fifth-place $5,000.

mburney@phillynews.com

856-779-3814 @mlburney