Phoebe Smith, a seventh grader at Northley Middle School in Aston, finished in 11^th place after misspelling cabalassou Thursday night at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Maryland, writes Robert Moran for philly.com.

Merriam-Webster defines cabalassou as a giant armadillo.

The 13-year-old survived eight rounds and was among the final 16 competitors who took center stage at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center near Washington.

The championship was won by Karthik Nemmani, 14, an eighth grader from McKinney, Texas, who correctly spelled the word “koinonia,”

Phoebe tied for 10^th place in 2018 and took 189th place in 2017.

There were a total of 516 children who qualified for the nationals this year.

On May 26, Phoebe headed to Maryland after out-spelling 48 other Delaware County middle school students in February’s countywide spelling bee at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit in Morton.

The DCIU championship win was a third for Phoebe. Phoebe was named champion after spelling the word “chaplain” correctly.

“I was a little nervous competing at my first national bee, but I’ve learned to take the competition one word at a time and stay composed onstage,” Phoebe said.

Read more about Phoebe Smith’s spelling experience here.

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