"Aloha, Dr. Bailly," Hawaiian eighth grader Ameera Waterford, speller 51, greeted the pronouncer. "I'm good, kind of."
She misspelled "glacis," and stuck out her lower lip as the bell rang to eliminate her from the competition.
Before the finals, Ameera said she wasn't expecting to make it as far as she did. She said she was excited -- and had already been on the front page of the Maui News for her accomplishment.
"It's an honor," she said. "It's nice to have almost a whole state rooting for you. It's a small place, so it's very personal."
"Ameera's always been a big fish in a little pond," said her mother, Anita Waterford. "It's nice to see her on a national stage."
