“It’s been a ton of fun,” remarked local student Jake Annal shortly after competing against the nation’s top 280-plus spellers on Thursday at the 81st Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

Annal, 13, is a seventh-grade student at Oswego Middle School. En route to qualifying for the trip to Washington and a chance at the national spelling bee, he won the regional final at Oswego High School on March 1.

Recalling Thursday’s competition, Annal noted, “I was eliminated in the second round … 198 people were eliminated that round and only 90 got through.”

While he did spell his second round word — soporific — correctly, he explained that advancement to Round 3 was dependent on a combined score of the word and written round of the competition. “I spelled my word right,” he said, “but I was disappointed with my written part. I just didn’t think I did that good.”

Overall, the trip to Washington has been an exciting and educational experience for Annal, who arrived in the nation’s capital on Monday and will be departing for Syracuse’s Hancock airport late Sunday, expecting to arrive home early Monday morning. He noted a day trip to Annapolis, a tour of the navel academy, dinners, picnics and many other activities he’s enjoyed throughout the week as being “really cool.”

In last year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, Annal’s sister, Haley represented this area. She too was eliminated in the same round as Jake, despite also spelling her second-round word correctly.

When asked if the experience was one he’d enjoyed and if he planned on making another run at next year’s national spelling bee championship, Annal reflected on the unforgettable week he’s had and took little time in responding with a resounding “yes.”