Cooper Komatsu, the spelling pride of Culver City Middle School, spelled his first five words correctly last evening in the national spelling championships.
He faltered and was eliminated on No. 6 – the word was illicium, defined as a genus of flowering plants.
Cooper placed seventh in the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, MD.
Qualifying for the national finals for the second straight year by winning the Los Angeles regionals, the eighth-grade Mr. Komatsu whirled through his first five opportunities this way:
- Cacomixl – a cat-sized carnivore, related to a raccoon, found in the southern portion of North America.
- Glaucothoe, a young hermit crab.
- Buccal, an adjective meaning it is related to the mouth.
- Rerebrace, a holdover from early medieval times, is a piece of armor that protects the upper arm.
- Myoclonus, an involuntary muscle spasm.
