Agatha Chang of Portland and Arcadia Corn of Nyssa advanced to Round 3 of the Scripps National Spelling Bee when both were tripped up and eliminated.
Agatha, 12, is a seventh-grader at Winterhaven School in Southeast Portland, which focuses on science, math and technology. Arcadia, 12 is in the sixth grade at Nyssa Middle School in Eastern Oregon.
Round 1 for the 563 contestants at the Bee consists of multiple choice tests. Round 2 is the first time contestants are on the stage. Agatha correctly spelled ratafia and Arcadia was perfect on tussock.
In Round 3, the word putrescible stopped Agatha, who spelled it putrceble. Arcadia spelled meerkat as meercat.
Lest you think it's easy to compete in the Bee, tap here to see how all contestants did in Round 3.
More: How to spell better