68th Scripps National Spelling Bee
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| 68th Scripps National Spelling Bee | |
|---|---|
 The Capital Hilton, site of the 68th National Spelling Bee | |
| Date | May 31 – June 1, 1995 |
| Location | Capital Hilton, Washington, D.C. |
| Winner | Justin Tyler Carroll |
| Age | 14 |
| Residence | Wynne, Arkansas |
| Sponsor | The Commercial Appeal |
| Sponsor location | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Winning word | xanthosis |
| No. of contestants | 247 |
| Pronouncer | Alex Cameron |
| Preceded by | 67th Scripps National Spelling Bee |
| Followed by | 69th Scripps National Spelling Bee |
The 68th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held on May 31 and June 1, 1995, at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.[1]
14-year-old Justin Tyler Carroll from Wynne, Arkansas won the competition on June 1 by correctly spelling the word "xanthosis".[2] Carroll was sponsored by Memphis, Tennessee Commercial Appeal as winner of the Mid-South Spelling Bee, where he beat a field of contestants from counties covering 5 states, excluding Shelby County, Tennessee. Carroll was the third ever winner from the Greater Memphis (Mid-South) area to win the national competition, following Irving Belz in the 1951 competition and Geoff Hooper in the 1993 competition. To advance to the national bee, the latter two had won the Memphis-Shelby County Spelling Bee, the other regional spelling bee sponsored by Commercial Appeal specifically for schools in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. (As an aside, pop singer Justin Timberlake competed in the 1995 Memphis-Shelby County Spelling Bee.)
Marjory Lavery, a 13-year-old home schooler from Copley, Ohio, placed second after failing to correctly spell "cappelletti" in the 10th round.[2] There was a three-way tie for third place between Jenelle Jindal, 13, of Princeton, New Jersey, Ryan M. Burke, 13, of Orange, Connecticut (who finished 21st the prior year), and 12-year-old Vauhini Vara of Edmond, Oklahoma.[3][4][5]