Mt. Vernon Teen Made Quarterfinals of Scripps National Spelling Bee

The pressure didn't phase Edith Dawson of Mt. Vernon who did great on the biggest stage in spelling.

If you've ever been in a spelling bee, you know that sometimes words you know how to spell end up being very difficult to spit out with the anxiety of a spelling bee. 13-year-old Edith Dawson, a middle-schooler from Mt. Vernon, hasn't had that problem.

Dawson qualified for the Scripps National Spelling Bee back in March after winning a regional competition. She won an all-expense-paid trip to this week's national bee in Washington, D.C.

During Tuesday's first day of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Dawson spelled hangul and tutelary correctly. Yeah, I've never heard of those words either. Hangul is the "writing system of the Korean language." Tutelary is an adjective meaning to serve as "a protector, guardian, or patron." Thank goodness for the internet.

I also learned something when researching this story. The Scripps National Spelling Bee also requires you to answer a "word meaning question." In Round 2 on Tuesday, Dawson had to give a synonym for the work hackneyed... lacking in freshness or originality. Her correct answer was "trite."

My apologies if this story is making your intelligence seem not so intelligent. I'm right there with you. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has its own Twitter account where we kept up with Dawson's progress.

Round 1:

Round 2:

Round 3:

Dawson was eliminated from the competition in the 4th round Wednesday morning. About six minutes into the video below, you can almost tell by the look on her face that the word she drew wasn't one she was familiar with. It's safe to say none of us would've been. Torrefaction took out Dawson in today's 4th round. The end will come for every speller but one in this annual competition, but it's still tough to watch her get eliminated. The pain is palpable as you watch the video.

Round 4:

Congratulations on making the quarterfinals, Edith. You did great and represented eastern Iowa beautifully.