Breaking: Evan O’Dorney Spells ‘Serrefine’ To Win National Spelling Bee!

Our 2007 Scripps Spelling Bee national champion is Evan O’Dorney of Danville, Calif., who spelled “serrefine” in the 13th round to win more than $45,000 in cash and prizes and a lifetime supply of bragging rights. He beat 285 of the best young spellers despite missing his pre-bee ritual which is to eat fish, specifically a Tuna fish sandwich from Subway because “fish is good for the brain” he said.

Samir Patel’s was considered to be this year’s favorite (2nd place last year) and in one quick moment of the 5th round his dreams were dashed with the word “clevis.” His mother lodged a protest over the subtleties in the difference with ‘clevice’ but the judges denied the request to reinstate him.

serre-fine (sar-fn, sr-)
n.  A small spring forceps used for approximating the edges of a wound, or for temporarily closing an artery during surgery.

clev-is (klev-is)
n.  A U-shaped yoke at the end of a chain or rod, between the ends of which a lever, hook, etc., can be pinned or bolted.

These were the 15 finalists at the 80th Scripps Bee:

Jonathan Horton, 14, Gilbert, Ariz.

Evan O’Dorney, 13, Danville, Calif.

Tia Thomas, 12, Coarsegold, Calif.

Cody Wang, 13, Calgary, Alberta

Nate Gartke, 13, Spruce Grove, Alberta

Anqi Dong, 12, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Joseph Henares, 14, Avon, Conn.

Claire Zhang, 14, Jupiter, Fla.

Kavya Shivashankar, 11, Olathe, Kan.

Nithya Vijayakumar, 13, Canton, Mich.

Connor Spencer, 14, Platte City, Mo.

Matthew Evans, 12, Albuquerque, N.M.

Prateek Kohli, 13, Westbury, N.Y.

Amy Chyao, 13, Richardson, Texas

Isabel Jacobson, 14, Madison, Wis.