An Arizona girl who reached the finals of last year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee fell short of a repeat performance.
Esha Marupudi, a 14-year-old eighth grader at Basis Chandler, was knocked out in the semifinals of the event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
She was one of 24 spellers to reach the ninth round, where she was tripped up by “polemonium,” a type of perennial plant…