Shakeika Everett, an eighth grade student at Waynesboro Middle School, competes this week in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington.
She won the Mississippi title in March.

Shakeika correctly spelled "Banzai", a Japanese word for a greeting, cheer or battle cry, to capture the state championship.

Everett's first spelling test in Washington will be on computer. Round two takes place Thursday, May 29, when spellers are divided into two groups. Shakeika will be contestant 144. Preliminary scores will be tallied from rounds one and two and the top 100 will move on to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals will be aired live Thursday on ESPN360.com. The semifinals will be Friday, May 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. live on ESPN. Finals will be Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on ABC and WTOK-TV.