UPDATE: Julius West Student Competes in National Spelling Bee

Update, 6:45 p.m., May 30:

Reid Aleksander FitzHugh's journey ended Wednesday at the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor.

After the three preliminary rounds of competition, the 13-year-old eighth-grader at  in Rockville, didn’t advance to the semifinals.

FitzHugh, of Bethesda, correctly spelled ocarina in Round 2. In Round 3, he correctly spelled autoschediastic.

The first round had students take a computerized spelling test with 50 words, of which only 25 would be scored. Then, in the two live rounds, each speller had two chances to test their skills in front of a crowd of 500 audience members. A correctly spelled word in the oral rounds earned the contestants three points.

The tension of the competition was sometimes diffused by the joviality of young contestants, who broke the ice with the pronouncer by greeting him with a “Howdy,” or asking, “May I have an easier word?"

Each contestant could earn up to 31 points. Once the preliminary rounds were over, spelling bee officials tallied and announced the 50 semifinalists to the nervous children.

The bee included 278 contestants from 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Europe; as well as the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Click here to read FitzHugh’s speller profile.

Click here to see round-by-round results.

Live updates are are available Thursday via Twitter @ScrippsBee.

The semifinals will be broadcast live beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday on ESPN2. The championship finals will be broadcast live beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.

Original post, 5:30 p.m., May 30:

Reid Aleksander FitzHugh, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at in Rockville, correctly spelled his second- and third-round words and was still in the running for the championship late Wednesday afternoon at the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor.

FitzHugh, of Bethesda, correctly spelled ocarina in Round 2. In Round 3, he correctly spelled autoschediastic.

Click here to read FitzHugh’s speller profile.

Click here to see round-by-round results.

Live updates are also available today and Thursday via Twitter @ScrippsBee.

In addition to two spoken rounds, spellers also took a computer test worth 25 points, that will factor into determining who advances to the semifinals. As of 5:15 p.m., the test results were still being kept confidential and there were still about 30 contestants competing in Round 3.

The semifinals will be broadcast live beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday on ESPN2. The championship finals will be broadcast live beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.