South Florida student’s magical Spelling Bee run ends in semifinals

South Florida student makes quarterfinals of National Spelling Bee (Courtesy: Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, DC – A super speller from South Florida made it all the way to the Semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Juan Rondeau, 14, was of only 56 spellers to make the semifinals. 231 had entered the competition.

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Rondeau was eliminated when he misspelled bardane on Wednesday in Washington, DC.

Rondeau is an 8th grader at Westminster Christian School, and has competed in the National Spelling Bee the last three years.

He finished tied for 49th place in 2022 and tied for 139th place in 2021.

According to his Bee bio, “Juan was born in Argentina and moved to the United States when he was eight years old. He has been competing in spelling bees since third grade.”

In case you are wondering, bardane is a hardy plant that grows in the wild.


About the Author:

Steve Owen is the Assistant News Director at WPLG, and helps lead the daily news operations.