Shruthika Padhy, Speller 290, tripped over the pronunciation of her latest word, "Guayaquil."
But that didn't stop the New Jersey seventh grader from spelling it correctly.
Guayaquil is a city and port in western Ecuador on the Guayas River 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Gulf of the same name (an inlet of the Pacific).
Shruthika previously competed in tied for 22nd place in 2016 and seventh place last year.
