Tudon Competes at National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

Clarisse Tudon of Los Cuates Middle School, winner of the Rio Grande Valley Spelling Bee, competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in suburban Washington, D.C.

Tudon had advanced to the regional bee by winning the Los Fresnos CISD Spelling Bee in January.

She participated as Speller #236 out of 285 spellers in the national bee, which was broadcast by ESPN networks. The Bee took place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md.

All spellers took the Preliminaries Test together at 8:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, May 24th.

Clarisse was eliminated from competion in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in suburban Washington, D.C. Wednesday, May 25th.

All 285 spellers took the Preliminaries Test Round 1 Tuesday, and all advanced to Round 2.

In the Preliminaries Round 2 Wednesday morning, Tudon correctly spelled “bireme” to advance to Round 3.

In Round 3 Wednesday afternoon, she misspelled “chrysolite.”

The Finals were held at 10 a.m. EDT Thursday and shown on ESPN2. The Finals continued at 8 p.m. EDT Thursday on ESPN.

Clarisse is active in extracurricular activities such as band, University Interscholastic League and student council. She loves to read in her free time, as well as draw and sketch in her journals. When she is not at school, Clarisse likes to hang around with her friends at the bowling alley or go to the movies. Her current favorite movie is Inside Out. She enjoys playing with her dog, Cody, and her cat, Chica, and she loves to be outdoors. After participating in her district spelling bee for four years, Clarisse is excited to have qualified for the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the first time.

Thank you Clarisse for representing your community in national competition!