Eleven spellers have advanced to the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.The 11 were the last contestants remaining Thursday after 2 1/2 days of competition that began with 281 youngsters. They had to not only spell some tough words, but they had to tackle the first vocabulary tests in the bee's history.

The finalists were to compete Thursday night for the title that includes a familiar huge trophy and more than $30,000 in cash and prizes.

 

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