13-year-old spells 'guerdon' to win bee
WASHINGTON (AP) - May 30, 2008 The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., who often had the
audience laughing with his one-line commentaries was all business
when he aced "guerdon" - a word that appropriately means
"something that one has earned or gained" - to win the 81st
version of the bee Friday night.
"I don't know about comedy lines, but my parents have been
telling me since the beginning that I should always stay calm, cool
and collected," said Sameer, who likes playing the violin and
video games, and hopes one day to be a neurosurgeon.
Sameer, appearing in the bee for the fourth time and a top 20
finisher the last two years, clenched both fists and put his hands
to his face after spelling the winning word. He won a tense duel
over first-time participant Sidharth Chand, 12, of Bloomfield
Hills, Mich., who finally stumbled on "prosopopoeia," a word
describing a type of figure of speech.
For placing first, Sameer will receive $35,000 in cash plus more
than $5,000 in other prizes.
