The words Utah students faced at the national spelling bee

Four Utah students represented the state at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week.

State of spelling: Two made it to the quarterfinals on Wednesday while two were bounced in the prelims on Tuesday.

Here are the spellers and — and the words they had to spell or define:

Sophia Montana , a 6th grader at Daybreak Elementary, finished her run on Wednesday misspelling "inspeximus" — some sort of certification, according to a dictionary entry that's as obscure as the word itself. Before that, Sophia spelled:

• " rosacea ," a skin condition that causes redness,
• " Plantagenet ," the house that ruled England before the Tudors,
• and defined " evanescent ," which means "short-lived."

Brooke Powell , a homeschooled 13-year-old from the Salt Lake Valley, was eliminated on " aligreek " — a term whose "only known use" was in the 1860s, per the Oxford English Dictionary . Brooke previously spelled:

• " balmoral ," a type of shoe or cap — or the name of the castle where the British royal family summers,
• " cushag ," the name for ragwort in Manx Gaelic,
• and defined " tiffin ," a fancy word for "lunch."

Sasha Kenlon , a 6th grader from Park City, was asked in round one to spell " mandorla ," a football-shaped panel or border used in old paintings.

Cadi Heaton , an 8th grader from Price, kept her sang-froid but met her coup de grâce in round one with " roi fainéant ," a French term for "a do-nothing king."

• C'est la vie!

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