Send this story Print this story

Adjust text size

To bee or not to bee
Evan will still compete in spelling bees, after he takes a break

by Natalie O'Neill

Danville's beloved whiz kid Evan O'Dorney returned home late Sunday night from Washington, D.C., after placing 21st out of 275 at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. He brought home a $500 cash prize along with books and a $100 savings bond.

Evan and his mom, Jennifer O'Dorney, who studied words together all year, said it was a good experience despite the fact that Evan didn't make it as far as he had hoped. He was stumped in Round 7 over the word "mirliton," a tropical American squash-like fruit.

"It was very exciting and nerve racking when I was waiting for him to get his words - wondering if he would know it," Jennifer O'Dorney said.

Evan nailed "cicerone," "occultation," "spheterize," "maquillage" and "antilegomena" in the beginning rounds, but missed "mirliton" by one letter. The home-schooled 12-year-old said he thought they had made a mistake in studying.

"We forgot to mark that word," he said.

He added that with all of the words in the English language, it's impossible to not make a mistake eventually. Jennifer and Evan's father Mike O'Dorney said they felt good about the results.

The event was aired on primetime ESPN for the first time and was viewed by thousands of people nationally. Jennifer said this year was different from last year because the filming of the spelling bee made it more hyped up and intense.

"When it was your kid's turn to spell, they put a camera right in your face," she said.

Viewers love to watch the drama and suspense of the spelling bee, she said, comparing it to a reality TV show.

While Evan and Jennifer will definitely still compete in future spelling bees, they both said they want to take a break from studying to relax for a little while.

"We are going to keep on doing it but not as intensely as before," Evan said.

After the bee was over, the two went on a tour of Washington. They visited the Smithsonian, the spy museum and museum of American History.

With a less intense study schedule, Evan will have more time to do the other activities he enjoys, like playing piano, card games, board games and reading with his mom.