NEWS

Lakeview student eliminated in national spelling bee

Safiya Merchant

Battle Creek Enquirer

Lakeview Middle School seventh grader Leila Overbeek talks about spelling bees two years ago. Overbeek won first place at regionals in 2016 and will return to the Scripps National Spelling Bee later this month.

Lakeview Middle School fifth grader Leila Overbeek has been eliminated from the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Overbeek, 10, made it to the third round during the national spelling bee before misspelling the word "stereotypical," according to the spelling bee's Twitter account.

Online contest rules say that spellers are eliminated from the competition once they incorrectly spell a word during the second and third rounds. Preliminary rounds for the Washington, D.C. spelling bee take place today and the finals start tomorrow.

Overbeek advanced to the national bee after winning the MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot Spelling Bee on March 16.

Residents can follow the National Spelling Bee on Twitter @ScrippsBee. ESPN is also broadcasting the bee.

Contact Safiya Merchant at 269-966-0684 or smerchant@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow her on Twitter: @SafiyaMerchant