Speller #55, Adrian Gunawan, 14, attends South Middle School. He correctly spelled the word "villicus" in the sixth round to make it to the finals. He tied for second place with three other teenagers.
"I feel great about it, I just feel that well, I was just really, really close to the championship but oh well," said Gunawan.
Decatur, Ill., native Gina Liu also made it to the sixth round, but failed to make the finals.
Gunawan's biography on the Scripps National Spelling Bee website says he likes chmistry and is a member of his school's Science Olympiad team. When he grows up, he says he wants to be an engineer or a surgeon. Gunawan says his favorite subject is math.
Gunawan previously competed in the national spelling bee in 2008.
Read all the words Gunawan spelled correctly to make the finals
Read the full list of finalists
Read the full list of semifinalists
Anamika Veeramani, 14, of North Royalton, Ohio, won the National Spelling Bee.
