ARCHIVES

FIRST THREE-TIME WINNER: QUINCY KID SPELLS V FOR VICTORY; Seventh-grader takes Patriot Ledger spelling bee in nail-biter


By JESSICA TORREZ-RILEY
The Patriot Ledger

Dynasty is spelled Akshat Shekhar. The 11-year-old from Quincy fought back from the brink of defeat this weekend to become the first three-time winner of the 24th annual Patriot Ledger spelling bee.

‘‘Out of three times, this was the most nerve-wracking,’’ Akshat said.

Akshat, a seventh-grader at Roxbury Latin School, will represent the South Shore in the 80th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee May 30 and 31 in Washington, D.C.

In his first two national bees, he made it to the fourth round. Representing Quincy’s Point Webster Middle School in 2005, he finished 71st. Last year, as a sixth-grader at Central Middle School, he finished 45th.

This year, he hopes to make it past the fourth round so he can be on TV. The championship rounds are shown on ESPN and ABC.

His father, Shitanshu Shekhar, said Saturday’s competition was the toughest yet. ‘‘Winning the first time is easier than maintaining a position,’’ he said.

Joshua Cofsky, an eighth-grader at Bird Middle School in Walpole, gave Akshat quite a battle.

In his first regional competition, Joshua almost stole a victory in round 16, when Akshat misspelled ‘‘garrulous.’’ But when Joshua misspelled his potential winning word, ‘‘affidavit,’’ the competition continued for four more rounds.

When Joshua was tripped up by ‘‘protrusile,’’ Akshat won the bee by spelling ‘‘symbiosis’’ and ‘‘pyroclastic.’’

With the distinctive style he has developed in three years of competition, Akshat spelled the words slowly, pronouncing each letter carefully and pausing between them.

Accepting victory with the calmness of a competitor who knows his biggest challenge is still ahead, Akshat relaxed perceptibly, gave a big smile and shook hands with Joshua.

Joshua said he was surprised he made it to the final round.

‘‘I didn’t expect to get that far for my first competition,’’ he said.

To prepare, Joshua read ‘‘Spell It!’’ a study booklet made available by Scripps, a few times.

But none of the 23 words he was asked to spell were in the book.

‘‘I just kind of sounded it out,’’ he said.

‘‘I would have been happy if he made it through the first two or three rounds,’’ said his mother, Christine Cofsky.

All 44 spellers qualified for the competition after winning spelling bees at their middle schools.

In addition to a paid trip to Washington for himself and one parent, Akshat received a $100 savings bond donated by Jay Sugarman, chairman and chief executive officer at iStar Financial, and a Webster’s Third New International Dictionary donated by Merriam-Webster.

Joshua received a $300 savings bond donated by Eastern Bank, a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary donated by Merriam-Webster, and a $40 Amazon.com gift certificate donated by the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Seventh-grader Paul G. Dunphy, a returning champion from Memorial Middle School in Hull, placed third. He received a $200 savings bond donated by Eastern Bank, a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary donated by Merriam-Webster and a $20 gift certificate to a local bookstore.

Difference makers

Words that told the tale in the spelling bee.

AKSHAT

Right - Symbiosis, Pyroclastic (of volcanically broken rock)

Wrong - Garrulous (talkative)

JOSHUA

Right - Protrusile (extendible)

Wrong - Affidavit (sworn statement)

Jessica Torrez-Riley may be reached at jtorrezriley@ledger.com .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Monday, March 05, 2007