Canadian Runner-Up at Scripps Spelling Bee

The three-time Canadian champion came within a word of taking the top spelling prize in the world.

Laura Newcombe, a 12-year-old spelling sensation from Toronto, placed second overall in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. She came within one word – “sorites,” a Greek word for a type of argument – of netting the first-place prize after winning the Canadian bee three years in a row. Sukanya Roy, a 14-year-old Pennsylvanian, spelled “cymotrichous,” meaning wavy hair, to take home the $40,000 grand prize. The other Canadian at Scripps, Veronica Penny, 13, of Rockland, Ont., tied for sixth place overall after misspelling “rougeot,” a disease that affects grapes.