Fil-Am teen 5th placer in prestigious US spelling bee

A Filipino-American teenager in the United States made it to the top five of a famous spelling bee on Thursday (Friday in Manila), besting seven other competitors in the nationwide finals.

Alia Abiad, 14, from McClure Junior High School, Illinois, made it through six rounds of written tests and on-stage oral spelling in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Chicago Tribune reported. She managed to spell "quebrada,""collyrium," "buñuelo," and "brindisi" before failing on the word "irbis."

She improved her standing to fifth place from her previous attempt in 2013, when she only placed 19th.

Mary Horton, a Floridian, tied with her as they were eliminated in the 11th round. Sriram Hathwar of New York and Ansun Sujoe of Texas also tied for the championships, which NBC Chicago reported as a first in the competition since 1962.

Lorraine Abiad, Alia's mother, told Chicago Tribune that the win was unbelievable, while McClure principal Dan Chick said Alia was "kind, considerate, respectful and humble as she is intelligent."

According to her profile on the Scripps website, Abiad plays violin in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and enjoys educational podcasts and radio shows.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an annual competition sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company, a US media conglomerate. Scripps took over sponsorship of the National Spelling Bee in 1941, 16 years after it was originally conceived. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

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