Bay Area teen heads to spelling bee semi-finals

OXON HILL, Md. (KGO) -- A Bay Area teen is one of 46 competitors heading to Thursday's semi-finals at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Neha Konakalla advanced to the semi-finals on Wednesday after correctly spelling the word "tarpaulin."

The 14-year-old attends Sam H. Lawson Middle School in Cupertino.

Shirlyn Prabahar, 13, from San Ramon is out of the competition despite spelling a word on Wednesday correctly. The scores are based on a computerized spelling and vocabulary test in addition to the oral event.

The semi-finals take place Thursday morning followed by the final event on Thursday night.

The winner will receive more than $33,000 in cash and prizes.