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Fairfax Boy Advances In Spelling Bee Semifinals

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Contestants celebrate after learning they qualified for the semifinal round of the National Spelling Bee on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 in Oxon Hill, Md.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Contestants celebrate after learning they qualified for the semifinal round of the National Spelling Bee on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 in Oxon Hill, Md.

The National Spelling Bee semifinals got underway this morning, and although the 6-year-old girl from Woodbridge was eliminated last night, one young man from Fairfax did make the cut.

Jae Canetti, 10, is advancing to the semi-finals. He jumped up and down with excitement when he heard the news.

"I did not expect to be one of the top 50 in the world! " he says.

And he beat out more than 200 competitors from across the country to earn a spot as one of the top 50 spellers in the Bee.

For 6-year-old Lori Anne Madison of Woodbridge, the youngest to compete in the Spelling Bee's 85-year history, her winning streak in the Bee ended with a word that's for the birds — ingluvies. It literally means the crop of a bird or an insect.

The $300,000 grand prize will be announced this evening.

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