Nine spellers out of the original 247 will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals Thursday night. They achieved that honor by successfully competing in nine rounds of spelling and vocabulary questions.
Lauren Merillana, an eighth grader at Robert Frost Middle School, made it all the way into the ninth, and final semifinal, round but failed to correctly spell phthartolatrae. (In case you weren’t aware, that is a plural noun meaning followers of the Monophysite patriarch Seveus who taught that the body of Christ was subject to corruption prior to his resurrection, according to Scripps officials.)
The 14-year-old came so close Wednesday, but started the word with “th” instead of “ph.” As she spelled at the letters, on the national stage, her fingers busily acted as if they were typing them.
She told MCM, “It’s deeply disheartening to be given that word.” Still, she said, the overall experience was well worth it and “is something I will never lose.” She said she made a lot of new friends during her two consecutive appearances at the Bee.
During last year’s tournament, Merillana tied for 20th place. This time, she tied for 10th place.
When she first heard that dreaded buzzer letting her know she was had incorrectly spelled her word, her mother, Marigel Merillana, told MCM, “Unfortunately, this is not what she had hoped for, and she is disappointed.”
But the following morning, Merillana said she felt better. “I wanted to say I definitely recovered.”
Merillana studied hard, and upped her game as the competition drew closer. Then, she started studying four or five hours a day. “I mostly self-studied, but I did have a couple of coaches,” she said.
To anyone thinking of becoming a top-notch speller, Merillana advised, “I would say that you should be proud of yourself for making it here and not be concerned with making it” to the finals.
The North Potomac resident isn’t finished with spelling, although she has aged out of this competition. “I intend to give back to our spelling community to help aspiring students,” she said.
Merillana loves music and plays the flute, and “I sing a lot.” Next year, she will attend Richard Montgomery High School’s International Baccalaureate program.
Lauren Merillana aced her first 8 words in the Scripps National Bee, but misspelled phthartolatrae in the 9th, ending up tied for 10th place. Check https://t.co/8YhmkWKiii Thursday for an interview with the Robert Frost MS student. @mymcmedia @MCPS @ScrippsBee pic.twitter.com/Ljbv0T24wz
— suzanne pollak (@SuzannePollak) May 28, 2026
