Chaslene ture top Halog, a student at Waimea Canyon School, correctly spelled “sierra” to caphonors at the 2005 Kaua‘i Complex Area Spelling Bee held Thursday night at the Chiefess Kamakahelei School cafeteria. Halog, in earning the championship, endured 11 rounds
Chaslene ture top Halog, a student at Waimea Canyon School, correctly spelled “sierra” to caphonors at the 2005 Kaua‘i Complex Area Spelling Bee held Thursday night at the Chiefess Kamakahelei School cafeteria.
Halog, in earning the championship, endured 11 rounds of spelling and surged to the top berth after runner-up Natasha Abadilla of St. Theresa School stumbled over “lathe.”
Throughout the night, the pair of spellers went through their presentations with full confidence, including the catastrophic first round that saw four spellers withdraw from the stage.
In that round, Halog pressed forward with “granule,” and Abadilla offered no “apology.”
An “a” instead of an “o” saw Aleina Emayo of St. Theresa School ring the dreaded bell while an extra “i” withdrew Chiefess Kamakahelei speller Alia Aihara. An extra “l” in “nil” sent Kapa‘a Middle School speller Brynne Tagawa back into the audience in that opening round.
Martha Whitney, the sole entrant from Kula Intermediate School, went down in the second round on “c-a-m-p-a-g-a-i-n,” and Island School’s Chelsea Hill lasting until round three, stumbling on “roan.”
Marc Abundo, the second speller from Chiefess Kamakahelei School, came up an “r” short in that round.
Dylan Gilstein, the second Island School speller, was a casualty in round four as Halog continued on with “evaporate” and Abadilla was “notorious.”
Round five was the only round without casualties as Caitlin Valhuerdi, a Kahili Adventist School student, successfully spelled “wordiness” to bring forth an enthusiastic round of applause. Valhuerdi overcame “hypotonic” before being buried in “brocade” in round seven.
Waimea Canyon School’s second speller Michael Haack, getting a lot of support from the audience with his question-asking, became a victim in Round six, while Halog successfully overcame her bout with “rubella,” and Abadilla presenting a “sapphire.”
Dylan Cockerham, the remaining Kapa‘a Middle School speller joined Valhuerdi in withdrawing from the stage in round eight leaving just Halog and Abadilla for the spelloff.
Halog went through “quesadilla” while Abadilla spelled out “engineering.” The battle continued with Halog getting through “preemptive” and “primal” spelled out by Abadilla.
A “crouton” gave Halog life as Abadilla tripped over “lathe” in round ten bringing Halog to correctly spell “sierra” for the title.
School coordinators included Kira Baratta of Island School, John Cox of Kapa‘a Middle School, Kris Fujita of Chiefess Kamakahelei School, Brian Godsill of Waimea Canyon School, David Morales of Kula Intermediate School, Jennifer Oliverio of Kahili Adventist School, and Sister Delores Wisnicky of St. Theresa School.
Carol Shikada of the Department of Education West Kaua‘i Complex School Renewal Specialist, coordinator for the Bee, announced that in addition to the personal earnings of Halog, Waimea Canyon School would be the beneficiary of an extra $250 cash award made possible through the Bee’s sponsor, The Honolulu Advertiser.
Shirley Akita, Shawn De-Mille, and Shirley Ann Kauahi served as judges for the Bee while Jan TenBruggencate did the pronunciation honors.
Halog and Abadilla will be competing at the 2005 State Spelling Bee on Sunday, Mar. 13 at the Windward Community College. The Bee will be telecast live on K-Five.
Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) and dfujimoto@pulitzer.net
