WASHINGTON - We say they're champions, and they are. Out of about 10 million students who enter spelling bees, they're the 274 best in the nation.

But when they spell out, it's disappointing.

MATTHEW'S WORDS Round 2: nimiety - (Latin) excess, redundancy. Round 3: diaspora - (Greek) dispersion, as of people of common origin or beliefs. Round 4: talaria - (Latin) winged shoes of mythical gods. Round 5: mansuetude - (Latin) tameness or gentleness. Round 6: fauve - (German) a rebel in art. Round 7: joual - (French) term for several Canadian French dialects.

Matthew Evans, 11, The Tribune-sponsored student at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, tripped on joual in the seventh round Thursday, ending his quest to be the top speller in the nation.

At the beginning of Round 7, he was one of 21 spellers remaining in the competition. Of those, 18 had been in the national finals before.

Only 14 spellers were left on stage after he misspelled his word - a term referring to Canadian French dialects - then thanked bee officials and walked to the comfort room, where he and his mother and coach, Helen Evans, had time alone.

In his two previous appearances in the national bee, Matthew, the sixth-grade home-schooled speller from Albuquerque, couldn't get past Round 2.

This year, he not only defeated the pesky written round and made it into the rounds televised nationally on ESPN, but spelled correctly in four oral rounds.

Making it that far and receiving a national bee polo shirt is a goal of almost every speller who comes to Washington, D.C., including his.

On stage at the Grand Hyatt, in the glare of camera lights, Matthew competed like always.

"When it gets to about three people before him, he puts his head down," his mother said.

He's praying, she said, asking to remain calm and recall his study techniques. He may know the word; he may not. He depends on his faith to get him through the next minutes - whether he spells correctly or not.

Katharine Close, an eighth-grader from Spring Lake, N.J., who was competing in her fifth national bee, held on to win the championship televised live on ABC (KOAT-Channel 7) by correctly spelling ursprache.

With the rarefied world of spelling bees behind them, Matthew and his family, including his father, Randy Evans, and sister, Hannah, 10, will leave Saturday for Hershey, Pa.

Matthew plans to whoosh down steep slopes and whip around massive curves - he loves a good roller coaster. With the pressure behind him, it's time to be a kid again.

After Hershey Park, he's taking another week off at home "just to do some fun things," he said. "Like pleasure read."

On his reading list is Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court."

Then it's time to get back to word lists.

"The first long list I'm going to make when I get home is Canadian-French words," he said, laughing, "and the first word is going to be joual."

Matthew's annual goal is to win The Tribune Regional Spelling Bee, which will be in its 60th year in 2007.

Then he wants to return to Washington for a fourth time, and finish higher yet.

Given his drive, it's possible. After all, he's a champion.