Staff and wire report

WASHINGTON — About 80 of 247 spellers competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee were eliminated in the first round Tuesday, including two local champions from the Mahoning Valley.

Genevieve Ramey, an eighth-grade student from Lincoln PK-8 School in Warren, winner of the 21WFMJ Regional Spelling Bee, was eliminated in Round 1 by misspelling the word “lebensraum,” which the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as “territory believed especially by Nazis to be necessary for national existence or economic self-sufficiency” or “space required for life, growth or activity.”

Also eliminated in the first round was Caitlin Clonch, an eighth grade student from Crestview Middle School who represented Columbiana County. Caitlin was eliminated by the word “triduum, ” defined as “a period of three days of prayer usually preceding a Roman Catholic feast.”

The final round of the competition will take place Thursday. It will be broadcast on ION from 8 to 10 p.m.