Like dozens of other veteran spellers in their final year of eligibility, Anson Cook had big plans for this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 13-year-old eighth-grader from Potomac, Maryland, was a two-time participant in the bee, and last year he finished in a tie for 41st.
His objective was to make it into the top 12 or so who participate in the prime-time, ESPN-televised finals. “My goal for 2020 was to make it to the finals of Scripps.
After the cancellation I was like, ‘What do I do now?’ And now I've achieved that goal,” Anson said. He reached his goal by becoming one of the 16 finalists in the SpellPundit National Online Spelling Bee, a new event created by two teenage