WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ping! The sound reverberated 45 times throughout the nearly silent Independence Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Washington.

But the harsh dinging was quickly replaced by the applause of family members, friends, staff and media representatives at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The noise they heard was the dreaded bell, a signal that a speller had misspelled his or her word and would be immediately eliminated from the quarterfinals.

One of those spellers was Tessa Eckley of Normal. She was one of 90 contestants to make it through the preliminary written test to the quarterfinal rounds, where she was eliminated.

The bee drew 288 champion spellers from across North America, the Caribbean and as far away as South Korea.

"It's pretty nerve-wracking to see everyone else go," Eckley said of the rounds on stage. "And it's even more nerve-wracking to see them get it wrong."

As she approached the microphone to spell, the slender girl gave bee pronouncer Jacques Bailly a smile. Bailly's clear, soothing voice read Tessa her first word of the quarterfinals: "Afrikaans," a language spoken in South Africa.

The 13-year-old spelled it "Africaans."

Eckley's victory in the The Grand Final Spelling Bee, cosponsored by The Pantagraph and Busey Bank, in March guaranteed her a trip to the national bee in Washington, D.C., with her parents, Penny and Paul Eckley. The Thomas Metcalf School seventh-grader topped 25 other spellers who had advanced to the final by winning countywide bees in McLean, Livingston, Logan and DeWitt counties and a bee for home-schooled children.

Her friend from ballet, Alexa Swiger, 14, traveled with them to Washington watch the competition.

"I think she's incredible," Swiger said. "She's the best friend you could have."

When the word "arabesque," a ballet term, came up in the bee's second round, Tessa could be seen in her seat on stage, grinning and scouring the crowd to connect with Swiger.

The spellers tried their best to spell words such as "shenanigans," "alameda," "rescindable," "tularemia" and "tickicidal."

Only 45 advanced after four rounds of quarterfinal spelling to the semifinals. The bee concludes today.

Through the disappointment of being eliminated, Tessa said she was honored and excited to have the chance to compete in the quarterfinals.

"I was just really happy to make it to the next round," she said.

Penny Eckley said she "couldn't be prouder" of her daughter.

"I have watched her grow in the last few months and really expand her knowledge base in a way that I know I never could," Penny Eckley said. "It's really been such a positive experience, and I think it will do her well in the future for years to come."

Before the bee, Tessa Eckley mixed sightseeing with studying.

"I've really learned a lot along the way about all sorts of areas that I've never really kind of noticed before," Tessa Eckley said. "It's been really interesting."

The family plans to attend the rest of the bee's competition rounds together as members of the audience.

Phyllis Coulter contributed to this story.