Matthew Evans likes words so much, he sometimes makes them up.

Take psychoglottoboviphobia. It would mean fear of mentally ill talking cows.

Regional spelling bee champ Matthew Evans attempts a one-handed shot while playing a game of "Horse" against sister Hannah in the backyard of the family home. This week, Matthew, 11, competes for the third time in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The opening rounds are Wednesday, with finals set for Thursday. (Steven St. John/Tribune)

Here's how the 11-year-old Scripps National Spelling Bee competitor came up with it:

Psycho means mental illness

Glotto, talking

Bovi, cows

Phobia, fear

He's learned those Greek and Latin derivations while studying for spelling bees since 2003.

"The last time I missed stage was dereliction," he said. That was in the 2003 Tribune Regional Spelling Bee when he was 8.

Matthew, who is home-schooled, won the regional bee in 2004, 2005 and again this year. He's the first speller in the regional bee's 59-year history to win three consecutive years.

Beginning Wednesday, he's at the nationals in Washington, D.C., once again.

In 2000, the national bee added a written test of 25 words to what used to be an oral-only competition.

In the first round, 275 spellers face a multiple-choice test. Matthew gave an example of five ways to spell a word meaning "little":

miniscule

minuscule

minusceule

minuscul

miniscul

Can you pick the correct one?

(You'll find it later in this story.)

Each correct answer is worth one point with a maximum of 25.

An oral Round 2 can add three points to the speller's score, leaving a possible 28.

Responses are tabulated. The score of the speller 90 down from the top determines who goes to Round 3, so it is usually a few more than 90.

The break point in both 2004 and 2005 was 17; Matthew scored 16.

This year, he's practiced written tests in addition to the more than 23,000 words the national bee has used before.

Making it past Round 2 is his foremost goal.

Matthew Evans studies words he might need to know this week when he competes in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. His mother, Helen, preparing dinner, has home-schooled Matthew and quizzes him daily in preparation. (Steven St. John/Tribune)

He thinks if he can get a score of 18 on the written and spell his oral word, he can advance.

After that, the sixth-grader's goal is to make it into the top 10.

He hasn't - and won't continue - to accomplish those goals alone.

His mother, Helen Evans, is his coach. She quizzes him daily.

A dry-erase board leans near the computer where he works alone part of the day.

A less-than-minuscule grid shows his daily study list.

• Consolidated word lists from previous national bees, 30 pages.

• Two study books from Hexco Academic, at least 10 pages.

• Previous regional bee word lists, 500 words.

• Prefixes, suffixes, combining forms, four pages.

• Commonly misspelled words, 500.

• Merriam Webster's Third New International Dictionary addenda, four pages.

• Old Paideia booklets, 10 lists.

• Previous national bee word lists, 125 words.

• Words missed in earlier study.

In the current movie "Akeelah and the Bee," the main character studies in a diner and while sitting on the hood of a car.

Matthew isn't much different. He drags one of several stuffed three-ring binders wherever he goes.

In the movie, "they had a bunch of good spelling bee words," Matthew said. "They used scheherazadian from 2003."

If quizzed, he could tell you which list it is on and, of course, how to spell the word for "strangely fabulous."

All are Albuquerque times.

Wednesday:

Round 1, 6-6:45 a.m., written test, maximum score of 25 points

Round 2, 7-10:25 a.m., oral, score 3 points if correct

Total possible score of 28

Announcement of spellers proceeding to Round 3, 10:30 a.m.

Following rounds are oral, scores from first two rounds no longer count:

Round 3, Noon-1:45 p.m.

Round 4, 2-3:30 p.m.

Continue rounds until about 45 spellers remain

Thursday:

Rounds continue, 10 a.m., ESPN broadcast begins

Break, 1 p.m., live news conference on ESPN

Championship rounds, 7 p.m., live broadcast on KOAT-Channel 7.

Matthew Evans, 11, sponsored by The Tribune, speller 153

Lucas Donaldson, 11, sponsored by Freedom Newspapers of New Mexico, Clovis, speller 154

Source: Scripps National Spelling Bee