Spelling Bee winner spells 'ebullient' to win

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A seventh-grader from Carl Albert Junior High spelled 39 words to win the state spelling bee. <br><br>Quang-Minh Nguyen spelled two more words Saturday than runner-up Nabeel Shakir

Sunday, March 17th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A seventh-grader from Carl Albert Junior High spelled 39 words to win the state spelling bee.

Quang-Minh Nguyen spelled two more words Saturday than runner-up Nabeel Shakir of Heritage Hall Middle School.

The other 32 regional finalists in grades five through eight were eliminated by round 16.

It was the third time for Nguyen, 13, to compete in The Oklahoman/Scripps Howard Spelling Bee.

Two years ago, he was third runner-up. Last year, he was first runner-up.

After the field shrank to two, Nguyen and Shakir dueled for 11 rounds.

Shakir slipped up when he tried to spell ``comandancia'' in round 38.

Nguyen then spelled ``ebullient,'' an adjective that means ``characterized by enthusiasm or exuberance,'' to win the competition.