National Spelling Bee
Students competed in the National Spelling Bee ion Oxon Hill, Md., May 29 and 30, 2013. Christopher O'Connor of Tucson advanced to the semifinal round but didn't make it to the finals. Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., won the title.
National Spelling Bee
Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., holds the championship trophy after he won the National Spelling Bee by spelling the word "knaidel" correctly on Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Spelling Bee
Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, New York, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Mahankali finished the competition in first place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, New York, right, greets Pranav Sivakumar of Tower Lakes, Illinois, after Sivakumar misspelled a word in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Sivakumar finished the competition in second place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Pranav Sivakumar of Tower Lakes, Illinois, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Sivakumar finished the competition in second place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Chetan Reddy of Plano, Texas, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Remmer finished the competition tied for seventh place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Grace Remmer of St. Augustine, Florida, heads toward the microphone for the start of the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Remmer finished the competition tied for seventh place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Christal Schermeister of Pembroke Pines, Florida, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Schermeister finished the competition in 10th place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Chetan Reddy of Plano, Texas, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Remmer finished the competition tied for seventh place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Shivashankar finished the competition tied for fifth place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Amber Born of Marblehead, Massachusetts, competes in the finals of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Born finished in fourth place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Nikitha Chandran of Valrico, Florida, reacts as she misspells "pathognomonic" in the finasl of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. Chandra finished the competition in 11th place. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
The finalists of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee pose together in National Harbor, Maryland, Thursday, May 30, 2013. In the first row are (l-r): Nikitha Chandran of Valrico, Florida, Amber Born of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, Grace Remmer of St. Augustine, Florida, and Syamantak Payra of Friendswood, Texas. Second row (l-r): Pranav Sivakumar of Tower Lakes, Illinois, Christal Schermeister of Pembroke Pines, Florida, Chetan Reddy of Plano, Texas, Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post, New York, Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, New York and Vismaya Kharkar of Bountiful, Utah. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Christopher O'Connor, 13, of Tucson, Ariz., concentrates before spelling the word "pultaceous" incorrectly during the semifinal round of the National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Spelling Bee
Christopher O'Connor, 13, of Tucson, Arizona incorrectly spells "pultaceous" during the semi-final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Christopher O'Connor, 13, of Tucson, with his medal for advancing to the semifinal round of the National Spelling Bee. Only 42 of the 282 students who started the competition Wednesday moved on to the semifinals.
National Spelling Bee
Arizona teens Christopher O'Connor and Samuel Yeager, contestants 5 and 6 of 281 students from every state and several foreign countries competing in the National Spelling Bee in the Washington suburbs.
National Spelling Bee
Anna Tran, 13, of Quakertown, Pa., spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Louis Alridge of Bridgeport, W.Va., smiles as he spells "azimuth" correctly during the second round of the National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, May 29, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Spelling Bee
Maggy Lambo, 11, of Gloversville, N.Y., spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Manu Nair, 12, of Union, Ky., right, waits his turn to spell his word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Nicole Frische, of Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., spells the word "binturong" correctly during the third round of the National Spelling Bee on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Spelling Bee
Richelle Zampella, 12, of Muskogee, Ok., spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Cole Shafer-Ray, 12, of Norman, Okla., spells his word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Daniel Taylor Mayo of Roxboro, N.C., walks off after spelling the word "gobo" correctly during the third round of the National Spelling Bee on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Spelling Bee
Dylan O'Connor, of Alexandria Bay, N.Y., smiles after spelling the word "acervation" correctly during the third round of the National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, May 29, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
National Spelling Bee
Vanya Shivanshankar of Olathe, Kansas, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Damien John Handy of Lafayette, Louisiana, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Lowell Ruck of Orono, Maine, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Mary Geneve Skirvin of Bloomington, Indiana, approaches the microphone during competition at the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Zander Patent of Chicago, Illinois, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Annie Schnoll of Chicago, Illinois, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Meghana Kamineni of Chicago, Illinois, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Richard Morgaga of Chicago, Illinois, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Amna Raza of Las Vegas, Nevada, competes in the third round of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Alexander Schemra of Lillington, North Carolina, reacts to missing a spelling during the third round of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Alotus Nguyen Wei of Lima, Ohio, works out the spelling of a word during the third round of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Swati Sharma of San Antonio, Texas, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Jessica Ditton of Fredericksburg, Virginia, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Jessica Ditton, 12, of Stafford, Va., spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Daniel Mayo, 11, of Roxboro, N.C. spells his word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Indrani Das, 13, of Oradell, N.J. spells her word with a finger on her hand during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Katrina Miller, 12 of Delta Junction, Alaska spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Katharine Wang, 11, of Beijing, China spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Hannah Silvestro, 12, of Chino, Calif. spells her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Rebecca Lisk, 13, of Caledonia, Ill., celebrates correctly spelling her word during the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
National Spelling Bee
Daichi Hayakawa of Japan competes during the second round in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Tauloto Punipuao Tuiolemotu of American Samoa competes during the second round of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Piper Wynne Winkle of Geneve, Illinois, competes during the second round of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Zander Reed of Ankeny, Iowa, competes in the second round of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Emily Keaton of Pikeville, Kentucky, competes in the third round 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Margaret Flaherty Peterson of Granger, Indiana, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
National Spelling Bee
Christian J.D. Allen of Kingston, Jamaica, competes in the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxen HIll, Maryland, Wednesday, May 29, 2013. (Chuck Myers/MCT)
WASHINGTON — Tucson seventh-grader Christopher O’Connor did not think he would make it past the state competition, much less hear his name cal…
WASHINGTON - Christopher O'Connor made it further than he ever thought he would in the National Spelling Bee, but the Tucson seventh-grader kn…