RENO - Lyon County eighth-grader Trevor Callahan and Eagle Valley Middle School's James Woodmancy placed seventh and ninth respectively in the Nevada State Spelling Bee on Saturday here.
The two students made it to the finals of the annual spelling bee, a qualifying round for the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C.
Elko Junior High School eighth-grader Derek Boge outlasted 45 competitors Saturday and correctly spelled ''bandicoot'' to win the Nevada State Spelling Bee. Boge will compete in the national spelling bee in May.
Boge correctly spelled ''neologism'' after Michael Meyer, the runner-up, missed it. Boge then spelled ''bandicoot'' right to emerge as the state's top speller.
A bandicoot is a very large rat of India and any of several rat-like animals of Australia that carry their young in pouches.
Callahan, who attends Yerington Intermediate School, was taken out in round five, while Woodmancy of Carson City lost in the ninth round.
