All Minnesota contestants in Scripps National Spelling Bee have been eliminated
MINNEAPOLIS — All four Minnesota competing in the quarterfinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee have been eliminated.
Yupeng Chen, 14, from Duluth, William Rausch, 13, from Royalton, Jaden Go, 13, from Grand Forks and Kai Riedner, 11, from Excelsior represented Minnesota in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Chen, Go, and Riedner unfortunately did not make it past the quarterfinals, but Rausch continued forward to the next round after nailing the word "aphanisia." Aphanisia is defined as the early normal development of a vestigial organ followed by regression.
Sadly, Rausch did not make it past the sixth round and was eliminated on the word "vargueno." Vargueno is defined as a decorative writing cabinet with origins tracing back to Spain, composed of a rectangular chest supported on legs or a decorative framework and having the front opening downward on hinges to serve as a writing desk
Rausch finished in 23rd place, where he tied with other contestants. This is a tremendous improvement from the previous year, where Rausch finished 173rd.
NOTE: The video attached to this article originally aired on May 29, 2024.