El Rancho Charter School student Sydney Tran wrapped up her run at the 100th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., Tuesday night after advancing through two preliminary rounds.
Tran, 13, was representing Orange County on one of the most famous academic stages in the country, successfully answering in the first two oral rounds of the contest that drew 243 students representing all 50 states, U.S. territories and several other countries.
Aurora Ottilie Spisak (L), 14, of Dayton, Ohio dances during the commercial break in the preliminaries of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on May 27, 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland. 243 spellers from all over the globe ages 8 to 14 compete from May 27 to May 30, 2025 during the 100th anniversary of the bee. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
Speller 122, Sagan Karthikeyan of Ridgeland, Mississippi, representing C Spire Foundation, competes in a preliminary round for the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 27, 2025 in National Harbor, MD. (Craig Hudson / Scripps National Spelling Bee)
Sydney Tamhnu Tran, 13, of Irvine, CA., spells her word as she competes during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Natalie Mae Linthicum, 13, of St. Joseph, Mo., gestures as she spells her word during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Participants stand up as they compete during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Spellers during a preliminary round for the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 27, 2025 in National Harbor, MD. (Craig Hudson / Scripps National Spelling Bee)
Blanche Yang Li, 14, of Boulder, Colo., high fives her friends after correctly spelling her word as she competes during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)g
Speller Sydney Tran, of Irvine, CA, representing The Orange County Register/O.C. Department of Education, competes in a preliminary round for the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 27, 2025 in National Harbor, MD. (Craig Hudson / Scripps National Spelling Bee)
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Aurora Ottilie Spisak (L), 14, of Dayton, Ohio dances during the commercial break in the preliminaries of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on May 27, 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland. 243 spellers from all over the globe ages 8 to 14 compete from May 27 to May 30, 2025 during the 100th anniversary of the bee. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“It was a bit hard,” she said of the written test that ended up eliminating 84 spellers. “In the beginning, the words were moderately easy, I knew them, but in the end, I got words that were really weird and confusing.”
To prepare, Tran said she studied the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary and the rigorous “Words of the Champions” list of 4,000 words provided by the competition.
But in the end, “I had to rely on instinct,” she said.
Earlier Tuesday, Tran aced her first two rounds — spelling “merak,” a blue star in the Ursa Major constellation, and correctly defining “awry.”
Tran’s mother, Kelly, said her daughter had been dreaming of this moment since fourth grade.
“This was her goal to make it to the 100th anniversary,” Kelly Tran said, “and it’s a big accomplishment.”
The seventh grader, who is also a violinist in her school’s advanced orchestra, plays tennis and volunteers with a youth-led tennis nonprofit, said a highlight of her trip had been making new friends.
“The most fun part of this week was meeting a bunch of people across the nation,” she said. “The Memorial Day picnic was really fun, we got to walk around and just hang out.”
Tran said she and her family plan to stay in Washington, D.C. through Saturday, visiting landmarks including the U.S. Capitol and the Library of Congress.
The spelling bee’s quarterfinals take place Wednesday, with semifinals and finals set for Thursday. There were 99 spellers who advanced to the quarterfinals.
