Updated 2:54 p.m. WASHINGTON - An effervescent Matthew Evans completed the first two rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee this morning to advance to Round 3. It's the first time in three years he's made it past the written Round 1 multiple-choice, 25-word test.

MOVING ON Today Round 3, Noon to 1:45 p.m. Round 4, 2 to 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

With a huge grin and a thumbs up, Matthew shouted, "Yes!" at the end of the announcement of continuing spellers.

One of Matthew's favorite words, oeillade, from French meaning glance, appeared on the written test. He was delighted with that. It was one word he knew for sure.

Matthew, 11, scored 20 of a possible 25 on the written test, then earned three points in oral Round 2 by spelling nimiety, which means excess or redundancy. The cutoff point for advancing to Round 3 was 21.

"I was two above the cutoff," he said, showing orthodontically perfect teeth, different from his first national bee, when he showed red, white and blue rubber bands on his braces.

When he crossed the ballroom floor in the Grand Hyatt between rounds, he and his mother and coach, Helen Evans, grinned at each other. Several words in Round 1 were ones he'd studied since last year's national competition.

Matthew, a home-schooled sixth-grader from Albuquerque, is one of 97 spellers out of an original 274 to continue.

Before beginning this afternoon's third round, Matthew will be interviewed for Thursday's live ABC telecast by Robin Roberts, who is hosting the show.

His family's bright red T-shirts sporting "three-peat" caught the attention of the media.

This is Matthew's third year in the national bee, having won The Tribune Regional Bee in 2004, 2005 and 2006. He's the first New Mexico speller in 59 years to reach that pinnacle, one of his original goals.

"My next goal is to get to ESPN," he said.

"I think I could probably do that. The words I would have gotten last year if I had stayed in, I knew in both rounds."

The remainder of the bee is completed orally with the top 45 to 50 spellers remaining at the end of today's competition.

They will appear on ESPN at 10 a.m. Thursday with 10 to 15 advancing to the final rounds shown live on ABC (KOAT-Channel 7) beginning at 7 p.m.

Matthew's determined to earn a spot among the top 10 spellers this year, hoping to score as one of the top three by the end of his eligibility as an eighth-grader in two years.

The only other New Mexico speller, fifth-grader Lucas Donaldson of Clovis, spelled out in the first two rounds.