Coeur d'Alene's 2016 stellar speller Josiah Pinkerton will not be advancing to the finals in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Josiah, 13, a home-schooled seventh-grader who will be skipping eighth grade, did well in the preliminary tests but misspelled the word "flèche" in the second round of the bee Wednesday. "Flèche" is a French word for an aggressive fencing technique.

"We've kept record of all Idaho contestants that have made it to nationals, and none of them have yet made it to the 'finals' of round four where the 285 spellers are always reduced to the top 50 or less based on their scored points," said Josiah's dad, Dan Pinkerton. "Josiah has been studying two to three hours per day for the last few months hoping to be the first Idahoan to accomplish this task."

Josiah said he has enjoyed the bee experience and traveling to D.C. with his family, where they visited the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, the Capitol Building, the White House, Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon. Josiah won the trip, all expenses paid, when he came in first place at the North Idaho Regional Spelling Bee at North Idaho College in March.

"Scripps National Spelling Bee said that 11 million students competed this year," he said. "I am so grateful for The Coeur d'Alene Press and NIC for sponsoring the local spelling bee. I would not have been able to make it here without them and be one of the 285 spellers that qualified. I also thank my sister, Esther, for inspiring me to work hard and to love reading and spelling."

"Everyone can be inspired by Josiah," Dan said. "It is amazing to watch when a person taps into what motivates themselves, coupled with diligence, perseverance, and enthusiasm — watch great things happen."