Texas, with 10 champions, has one more than Ohio, with nine. With the elimination of Nilla Rajan, speller 424, Ohio won't make a comeback this year.
The eighth grader who tied for 31st place last year and 46th in 2016 misspelled "pteryla," one of the definite areas of the skin of a bird on which feathers grow.
There are several Texans still in the competition.