Sravanth Malla, Speller 315 and a New York eighth grader, was mobbed by the other spellers after he misspelled "cento," an often poetic patchwork composition of parts from other works.
They swarmed, hugging him.
Sravanth said it's “surreal” being in the finals in his fourth Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“It's a really good experience,” he said. “I've been wanting to do this since my sister did, and now my dreams came true.”
Sravanth's sister, Sanjana, competed in 2012 and 2014.
Now, she quizzes him and cheers him on.
Sravanth likes cars, the Cleveland Cavaliers and wants to travel to Dubai.
He also plays tennis, likes to read, can solve a Rubik's cube and does yo-yo tricks.
He has two good luck charms – statues gods that he keeps in his pocket.
Bee week, he said, is a really memorable and fun week.
“I'm going to miss not being one of the spellers,” he said.
Sravath tied for 50th place in 2015, 15th place in 2016 and 41st place in 2017.