Joseph Cusi Delamerced (Speller 187) stopped the hearts of many in the ballroom as he spelled "witloof."
He spelled W-I-T-L-O then paused and started over.
On the second attempt, he stopped in the same place. As the time ran out, Joseph added a questioning O-F to finish the word.
He got it right.
It is Joseph's third time at the Bee; he tied for 12th last year.
Also moving on is Ashwin Veeramani (Speller 188), a second-time competitor and the brother of 2010 champion Anamika. He correctly spelled "ingenue" to go on to Round Three; he tied for 33rd last year.