Two Local Students are Contestants in the National Spelling Bee

Congratulations to two local Denver students that are contestants in the National Spelling Bee.  They are two out of the 278 contestants this year competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.  The bee started with a computerized test yesterday and finishes with the championship Thursday.

Two of the competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this year are from Colorado.  Eva Kitlen, 13, of Niwot, and Frank Cahill, 14, of Parker, are among the 278 competitors this year.Kitlen is a seventh-grader at Sunset Middle School in Longmont. Her biography on the Spelling Bee website said she is a talented musician and member of her school’s band and jazz band. Kitlen plays clarinet, baritone horn and piano.
Kitlen also swims on both the Longmont Redtails year-round swim team and the state swim team. She is interested in astrophysics and hopes to someday pursue a career studying the universe.Cahill is an eighth-grader at Ave Maria Catholic School in Parker. Like Kitlen, he is a musician. He plays violin in the Colorado Youth Symphony Orchestra, as well as piano.Cahill is a 4.0 honor roll student, a Boy Scout and was a Colorado state finalist in the MATHCOUNTS National Competition in 2011 and 2012.Cahill participates in theater and has played the lead roles in "Dracula" and "Oliver Twist." He is also a defenseman on the Parker Hawks lacrosse team and a member of the varsity basketball team at his school.In his spare time, Cahill likes sculpting and reading.

Bee Competition

The 2012 bee starts on Tuesday with a computerized spelling test of 50 words. Only half of the answers will count toward each speller's preliminaries score. The computerized test score will be combined with the results of rounds two and three to determine the semifinalists.The preliminaries will be held Wednesday, the semifinals are Thursday morning, and the championship finals are Thursday night.Learn more about the competition on the Spelling Bee website.

For more information check out The Denver Channel.