California students in national spelling bee

Forty-five remain.

And among them are five Californians, as the semifinals get underway today in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 81st bee began with a record 288 spellers.

Tia Thomas, from Coarsegold, Calif., was quoted by Associated Press after she spelled her quarterfinal words: "emollience," which is a homonym, and "scission."

"Everything went according to plan — except me getting a homonym," Tia told AP. "I hate homonyms. Those are worst things ever."

The other Californians are: Austin Pineda of Perris, Josephine Kao of Roseville, Justin Song of San Diego and Easun Arunachalam of La Crescenta.

-- Mary MacVean