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March 29, 2024

Las Vegas teen out in final round of National Spelling Bee

Foiled by ‘herniorrhaphy,’ Tussah Heera is Nevada’s most successful speller since 1996

Spelling Bee

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Tussah Heera, 13, of Las Vegas, cries after misspelling “herniorrhaphy” Thursday during the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Updated Thursday, May 28, 2009 | 10:23 p.m.

Click to enlarge photo

Tussah Heera, 13, of Las Vegas, cries after misspelling "herniorrhaphy" Thursday during the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

When 13-year-old Tussah Heera heard the word "herniorrhapy," she knew she was in trouble.

But her fears didn't have anything to do with the corrective surgery for a hernia that the word describes. It was because she wasn't sure how to spell it.

The Las Vegan was one of 11 students from across the country who made it to the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, competing for the coveted title of the nation’s top speller as well as more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.

"I really didn't know the word. I kind of freaked out at that point," she said, adding, "Words with double letters tend to trick me up all the time."

Tussah omitted one “r” in the word, misspelling “herniorhaphy,” and was the first speller eliminated in the seventh round of the annual spell-off, which was held in Washington, D.C., this week.

"It was really, really disappointing, but I'm really proud of what I did so far in the time that I had and in the circumstances, I think I did pretty good," she said.

Tussah achieved the highest finish for a Nevada speller since 1996, which is as far as records for individual rounds are available, according to bee officials. No Nevadan has won the title in the competition’s 82-year history.

Tussah, who is home schooled, beat 36 spellers in the Nevada State Spelling Bee to qualify for the national competition. Once in Washington, she joined a pool of 293 word-savvy middle school students vying for the top spot, which went to 13-year-old Kavya Shivashankar from Olathe, Kan., who correctly spelled "Laodicean" in the 16th round of the competition.

Tussah aced “bardiglio” (a type of Italian marble), “cerecloth” (a wax-treated cloth) and “talipot” (a tall palm tree native to India and Sri Lanka) during Thursday’s semi-final rounds to qualify for the championship round, which aired at 8 p.m. on ABC.

“I was praying so hard for me to get words that I know — and I did!” she posted on her Twitter feed after learning she made it to the final round.

The eight-grader, who is also an award-winning musician, decided to enter the bee after watching past competitions on television. She said she looked over preparation materials provided by bee organizers and even tried to read the entire dictionary before the championship.

"I attempted to study the whole thing, but time didn't really allow me," she explained.

Tussah credited her success to her mother, who is her teacher and spelling coach. But her mother, Priti Shah, said it was her daughter who did all the work.

"She is a very determined and very focused person. If she wants something, she will put her heart to it," Shah said. "I wouldn't even have to tell her to (study)."

Melinda Brown, who organized the Nevada State Spelling Bee, described Tussah as an “outstanding kid” who has a great sense of humor and is always smiling. But Brown, who proctored a written test Tussah took to qualify for a state round, also noted Tussah’s high level of focus.

“The level of concentration that she has when she’s spelling … you can just tell that she’s very well prepared,” Brown said.

Shah said Tussah was "heartbroken" immediately after missing the word.

"She was thinking, 'Oh my god, I should have taken a little more time to get one letter in it,'" she said.

Just hours after the let-down, Tussah was back in high spirits, buzzing about how excited she was about meeting two celebrities who made cameos at the competition — "America's Funniest Home Videos" host Tom Bergeron and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

But even after all the flash cards, cramming sessions and stage fright, she said her favorite part of the week was competing in each round.

"My favorite part of the week was getting through each and every round. Every time I got to the round, I was really happy," she said.

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