Cupertino 8th Grader Out Of Final Round In Scripps National Spelling Bee

WASHINGTON (CBS SF) -- A 14-year-old Bay Area girl who made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC made it to the final 12 before she was eliminated from the competition Thursday.

Neha Konakalla, an eighth grader at Sam Lawson Middle School in Cupertino was out after she spelled the world "taglioni" incorrectly. She spelled the word with an "e" at the end.

In March, Neha won the first ever CBS Bay Area Spelling Bee, which was co-sponsored by KPIX 5 and KCBS Radio.

On Wednesday, Neha spelled "recalcitrant" and "tarpaulin" correctly to reach Thursday's competition.

Neha also competed in the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee last year.