It's Tara Singh's fifth and final year at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and it's bittersweet.
“I'm trying to enjoy my last time as if it's my first,” said Tara, a Kentucky eighth grader and Speller 133.
Tara said she's made good friends in her time spelling.
“You really need a great, strong group of friends,” she said. “Find your squad.”
The cheering you hear for Tara is that squad, many of whom are former spellers.
“It's just some reassurance on the side,” she said.
Tara spelled "ramsch" correctly. It's a game in which the jacks alone are trumps and the object is to lose tricks.
Tara tied for 43rd place in 2013, 50th place in 2015, 22nd place in 2016 and 18th place last year.