In the 9th grade semifinals the prettiest and most popular girl in the school lost to me also by a coin toss.
The school grapevine twittered (not the electronic kind!) about the raw deal she got.
Years after high school, I heard that she died of her own hand.
Spelling bees. More brutal than they may seem.
Very sad. Teachers don’t realize the harm they do to kids in their charge. I got over it, but was very upset at the time because, up to the coin toss, I respected (I hate that word) that teacher.