Former Neligh-Oakdale Student At National Spelling Bee

A former Neligh resident competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee today in Washington, D.C. Antonio Lansang also competed last year as a student at Neligh-Oakdale.

Although individual scores are unknown at this time, Lansang did not qualify for the semifinals. Only the top 46 of the 281 spellers advanced.

Lansang is an eighth-grader and the son of Zoilo and Agnes Lansang of Brookings, S.D.


The first round consisted of a written test with 24 spelling words and 24 vocabulary words. The vocabulary words were multiple choice. Only 12 of each counted toward the spellers' score, but those 12 were not identified until after the third round.

All spellers competed in the second round, where Lansang correctly spelled "mediocre" and correctly defined "panzer," which is a vehicle used by Germany during World War II.

Twenty-four spellers were eliminated after the second round.

In the third round, Lansang correctly spelled "ebulliometry" and correctly defined "lanolated," which means it contains refined wool grease.

Preliminary results were then announced, eliminating 211 spellers from competition, including Lansang. Only 46 students advanced to the semifinals and just 12 then moved on to the finals, which will be Thursday night.

To qualify for the national bee, Lansang outlasted eighth grader Adele Benoit of Yankton and his sister, Angela Lansang, a sixthgrader from George S. Mickelson Middle School, after 30 rounds of the oral competition.

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