Williamsville Teen Makes It To Spelling Bee Finals

A 13-year-old Williamsville boy managed to spell words like ichthyolite, calabrasella and scelidosaur while competing in the  National Spelling Bee this week, making it to the finals...  but slipped up on a word describing a rare kind of shrub.

Nabeel Rahman asked for  the definition, language of origin and pronunciation of "dockmackie," but unfortunately the answers didn't help him spell the word correctly.  He was off by just two letters, tying for an impressive 10th place at the Scripps National Spelling Bee Thursday.  The seventh-grader incorrectly guessed "d-o-c-k-m-a-c-k-y."  No worries though, Nabeel...  You have a bright future ahead!  You spelling abilities are not only impressive, but your stage presence was remarkable!  Congrats on making it to the finals!  (By the way, my spell check didn't even know how to spell "dockmackie.")  You can watch Nabeel's Bee performance on video at  WIVB.com.

Sukanya Roy of South Abington, Pennsylvania won the Bee.  The 14-year-old came in first by spelling the word "cymotrichous" which means having wavy hair.