Woodland Middle School student Sarah-Jessica Sedy almost made it to the fourth round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Sedy, of Coeur d'Alene, missed one of the 25 words in the round-one computer test. During round two she correctly spelled protervity and in round three she nailed conquistador. The one misspelling in round one came back to haunt her, leaving her one point short of advancing to round four.

Still, "I can't even remember how to spell it," she said.

Sedy was still in Washington on Friday, spending the day touring the city with the other spelling bee competitors.

The best part of the trip was meeting all the kids and the eventual winner, Snigdha Nandipati, of San Diego, she said.

"I congratulated her on behalf of Idaho," Sedy said.

She made some new friends while she was there, she said.

She arrived in Washington last weekend and she returns today.

"I'm very appreciative of everyone that helped me and I miss my friends, mom and sisters," she said. A friend made the trip with her, she said.

She credits her spelling skills to voluminous reading and studying Latin.

The eighth-grader became eligible for the national competition when she won the regional spelling competition hosted by North Idaho College in March.

The Coeur d'Alene Press paid all her and her friend's travel expenses.

This is the 10th year The Press has sponsored the North Idaho regional spelling champ's trip to the national competition.