Spelling Bee Champ: Future MD?
by Laurence Wooster | June 05, 2007
The face of a champion, yes;
a doctor, no
(click to enlarge)
a doctor, no
(click to enlarge)
Chances are Evan M. O'Dorney won't be donning scrubs and a stethoscope anytime soon. Though Evan won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on the word "serrefine," meaning a pair of small forceps for clamping a blood vessel, the 13-year-old Danville, California resident says he prefers math and music. He doesn't even like spelling that much, he says.
Evan was up against other determined spellers, including Nate Gartke, who would have been the first Canadian champion. Yet despite missing his traditional pre-tournament tuna-fish sandwich, Evan managed to outlast the competition.
In the 9th round, the field already shrunk to five, Evan got a boost when three spellers faltered. One, Joseph Henares of New Haven, Connecticut, stumbled over "aniseikonia," a type of visual defect. This left just Evan and Nate, who finally succumbed to "coryza," a head cold.
This is Evan's third trip to the national finals, though no word if it's his last.
Evan was up against other determined spellers, including Nate Gartke, who would have been the first Canadian champion. Yet despite missing his traditional pre-tournament tuna-fish sandwich, Evan managed to outlast the competition.
In the 9th round, the field already shrunk to five, Evan got a boost when three spellers faltered. One, Joseph Henares of New Haven, Connecticut, stumbled over "aniseikonia," a type of visual defect. This left just Evan and Nate, who finally succumbed to "coryza," a head cold.
This is Evan's third trip to the national finals, though no word if it's his last.
