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Cameron Keith hopes to spell his way to title

Posted at 7:43 AM, May 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-24 11:14:18-04

Braunschweiger.

Psittacosis.

Cameron Keith can spell a word faster than some of us can say it.

Last year he was the youngest speller at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.  Now 10 years old and a fourth grader at Boulder's Friends' School, Cameron has spent hundreds more hours studying.

“I usually have a pile of these flash cards,” he told Denver7’s Nicole Brady. 

Cameron says you either know it or you’re taking your best guess.

While practicing is key, Cameron’s amazing memory and gift for language are tremendous assets.

The other thing he does to keep advancing his knowledge -- read.

“He takes out stacks of books, and brings them back within the 7 day time,” said deana harragarra waters (sic), the librarian at Friends' School.

She helps drill Cameron on words almost every day and says the entire school is beyond proud of his accomplishments.

“Just cheering him on with each word that he spelled-- I can't explain-- I can't spell the excitement,” she says.

All of Cameron’s teachers and classmates will be watching Cameron on TV this week.

It’s a lot of pressure for a guy who will still be one of the youngest spellers at the National Bee with hopes of getting his hands on that championship trophy.

“It would be a dream come true for me,” said Cameron.

Colorado has two spellers in this year's Bee -- Cameron and SylvieLamontagne. The Scripps National Bee starts Tuesday morning when all of the spellers take the preliminaries test. ESPN will broadcast the Bee starting Wednesday.

Test your spelling skills here.

MORE | Spelling Bee to make final rounds tougher

MORE | 15 little-known Scripps Spelling Bee facts

Scripps is the parent company of Denver7, KMGH-TV & TheDenverChannel.com in Denver.

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