WASHINGTON | After listening to his fellow contestants spell words like "cahoots" and "mastodon" during the preliminary round of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Keertan Kini stepped up to the microphone.

The Kahler Middle School seventh-grader confidently -- and correctly -- spelled "facilitate." But the words were about to get much tougher.

Following the contest's oral portion, Kini and more than 200 other competitors sat down to a 25-item multiple choice spelling test.

Written exam words included "syssarcosis," defined as the joining of bones by the means of muscle, and "bewusstseinslage," a state of consciousness.

Though Kini earned a 3-point bonus for spelling correctly during the oral round, he didn't earn the 18 points necessary on the exam to advance. Only 107 participants moved on to Wednesday's quarterfinals.

Kini, a straight-A student sponsored by The Times, competed Wednesday against 285 top spellers from across the country.

The competition, which has gained widespread attention thanks to ESPN coverage and movies like "Akeelah and the Bee," puts more on the line than just intellectual bragging rights. The champion wins $35,000 in cash, a $5,000 college scholarship, a $2,500 savings bond and an Encyclopedia Britannica collection.

Out of the 82 kids who have taken home National Spelling Bee championship titles since 1925, two have been from Indiana. The word "autochthonous," which means indigenous, cinched the 2004 title for David Scott Pilarski Tidmarsh, of South Bend. Another South Bend resident, Betty Robinson, won in 1928.

Today's semifinals will be broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon on ESPN, and the finals will be shown from 7 to 9 p.m. on ABC.