Four-Time Contender Wins Spelling Bee

Wendy Guey of West Palm Beach, Fla., a four-time contender, won the 69th National Spelling Bee and the $5,000 first prize Thursday by spelling “vivisepulture” correctly. She defeated Nikki Dowdy of Houston, who missed “cervicorn.”

It was an all-girl final when the elimination got down to three spellers.

“I really wanted to win and I prayed a lot,” said Wendy. “I was just really lucky that I got all the words I knew.”

What will she do with her prize money?

“Spend it,” Wendy said.

Her winning word means burying alive.

Wendy is 12 years old and a seventh-grader at the Palm Beach County School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. She was sent as a contestant by The Palm Beach Post.

She was in the top 10 finishers in 1993 and 1994, and her older sister, Emily, also took part in the 1995 finals. Her mother, Susan, is a teacher, her father, Ching, an engineer.