Kansas City-area spellers wrap up competition in quarterfinals at Scripps National Spelling Bee

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Five Kansas City-area spellers competed this week at the Scripps National Spelling Bee among 229 other spellers in Washington D.C.

After the achievement of making it to the bee, the journey for each of the five spellers came to an end by the quarterfinal round.

Pleasant Hill Middle School student Antonia Antov, 12, made it the farthest, reaching the fourth round.

Antov, of Peculiar, correctly spelled "funori" in round one. She correctly defined "epistolary" as "written as a series of letters" in round two before correctly spelling "additory" in the third round.

Antov was eliminated in the next round spelling the word "camporee," but she met the pre-spelling bee goal she set for herself, aiming “to get at least a few words right.”

Brooklyn Stewart, 14, an eight-grader at St. Elizabeth School in Kansas City, Missouri, previously said participating in the Scripps National Spelling Bee was "a big dream come true."

She correctly spelled "interpellate" in the first round then defined vaudeville as "stage entertainment" before she was eliminated on the word "bibliogony."

Dominic Marroquin, 13, said being in the bee was an opportunity to help improve his skillset in the future.

The Santa Fe Trail Middle School eight-grader spelled the word "illative" correctly before exiting the bee during the word definition round on the word "equivocate."

Makayla McGuire, 13, a seventh-grader at Savanna Middle School in St. Joseph, also reached the second round after spelling the word "sumpsimus" correctly in the first round.

While preparing, McGuire described the experience as exciting and fun.

Kai Wen Soon has participated in spelling bees since fifth grade, and his mother told KSHB 41 News that he is constantly improving.

The Plaza Middle School eighth-grader's time in the bee came to an end after he was misspelled the word "teratism."