Madison Girl Ties For Third In National Spelling Bee
Jacobson Placed 14th Last Year
Updated: 7:45 am CDT June 1,2007
WASHINGTON -- A champion speller from Madison fell just short of victory Thursday night in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.
INTERACTIVE: Virtual Spelling BeeIsabel Jacobson, 14, missed in the ninth round on the Greek-based word for blue-green algae, "cyanophycean."When she was knocked out, only two boys remained to go for the championship, so she wound up in a tie for third. Last year, she tied for 14th.In Thursday night's nationally televised finals, Jacobson correctly spelled a word of Greek origin, "helodes," for growing in marshes, and then nailed a French-based word, "epaulement," meaning a side work filled with earth, or earth heaped up, to afford cover from the flanking fire of an enemy.The eighth-grader from O'Keeffe Middle School had advanced Wednesday by correctly spelling "danceable," "antioxidant," and "myrmecologist."Then she advanced through Thursday morning's semifinals by spelling "lekvar" and "cannetille," a couple of words not found in many dictionaries. Lekvar is prune pudding and cannetille is a type of wirework jewelry.
Previous Stories:
- May 30, 2007: Wis. Spelling Bee Contestant Advances To Semifinals
- May 29, 2007: Wisconsin Spelling Bee Contestant Hopes To Last Longer Than Last Year
- May 26, 2007: Madison Eighth-Grader Headed To National Spelling Bee
Copyright 2007 by Channel 3000. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.







