Suburban spellers knocked out of Scripps National Spelling Bee

Both suburban spellers who advanced to the finals of this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee have been knocked out of the competition.

Calvin Franke of Palatine was eliminated Thursday in the eighth round when he incorrectly spelled Wundtian.

Calvin, who attends District 15's Plum Grove Junior High, correctly spelled four words before being knocked out.

Atman Balakrishnan of Hinsdale was one of 10 spellers eliminated Thursday after the fourth round of the finals. The Hinsdale Middle School seventh-grader was knocked out on the word Hanseatic.

Balakrishman was knocked out in the third round in 2018.

Roughly a dozen spellers will advance to the prime-time finals. The winner receives more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

The competition is airing living on ESPN 2 this afternoon.

• The Associated Press contributed to this report.