Young students outdo older kids at spelling bee

Perhaps, once kids get to be teenagers, they have other things on their minds besides spelling.

Whatever the reason, the lower grades once again put on the best show at the Central Agency Spelling Bee Monday, with the 5th-graders duking it out for 36 rounds compared to 18 for the 7th-graders - and most of that was a spell-off for second place.

Three fifth-graders - Lakota Thompson from Canyon de Chelly Elementary, her schoolmate Natrielle Shorty, and Kennedy Town from Tsaile Public School - slowly shed some stiff competition and then went head-to-head for 19 more rounds before Town went down on "punctilio" (a nicety or finer point of manners), spelling it with two "l's" instead of an "l" and an "i" before the final "o."

Schoolmates Thompson and Shorty matched each other for eight more rounds until "tertiary" tripped up Shorty and Thompson sailed over "tatami" (a rush-covered straw mat) and then "threshold" to win.

To make the competition even more exciting, Thompson wasn't even supposed to be there. She was the alternate for Shaun Hadley, who didn't show.

The sixth-grade battle was almost as entertaining, with three strong spellers - Aarash Raza of Mesa View Elementary, Samuel Yeager of Canyon de Chelly and Jakeem Paul of Lukachukai - going word for word until it sifted out after 30 rounds with Raza on top, Yeager next and Paul the alternate.

The 7th-graders, by comparison, had a quick contest with Kristopher Pouncy of Chinle Junior High looking surprised to be pronounced the winner after just four rounds.

The runoff for second place between Arcada Harrison and Keandra Sam lasted 13 rounds until Harrison correctly spelled "greengage" (a sweet, greenish fruit resembling a small plum) and Sam tripped over "gulden" (an archaic German coin).

The 8th-graders scarcely made it into the m's when Ashley Yellowhorse of Tsaile correctly spelled "maraschino" to claim first place. Yellowhorse wasn't even breaking a sweat, at one point crowing, "Awesome! I love that word!" when confronted with "latitudinarian" (showing no preference in religious creeds).

Her closest competitor, Gaven Beach of Rock Point Community School, by contrast, misspelled "macadamia" as "macamadia" after surviving several much more difficult words.

Liane Uy of Piñon, who was allowed to join the competition late after getting caught in the pizza line at lunch, went on to place third and become the alternate for her grade level.

Here's the breakdown on the winners for each grade. Fourth- through eighth-grade winners and runners-up will go on to compete in the Navajo Nation Spelling Bee March 17, with alternates replacing first- or second-place winners who can't make it.

First grade: 1. Vivika Lewis, Tsaile Public School; 2. Delayah Tsosie, Piñon Elementary.

Second grade: 1. Pharrell Curtis, Lukachukai Community School; 2. Tahj Naize, Canyon de Chelly Elementary.

Third grade: 1. Cameron Fuller, Mesa View Elementary; 2. Jeroen Begay, Chinle Elementary.

Fourth grade: 1. Jaclyn Jack, Piñon Elementary; 2. Aaliyah Joe, Piñon Elementary; 3. Nicole Gushoney, Rough Rock Community School.

Fifth grade: 1. Lakota Thompson, Canyon de Chelly Elementary; 2. Natrielle Shorty, Canyon de Chelly Elementary; 3. Kennedy Town, Tsaile Public School.

Sixth grade: 1. Aarah Raza, Mesa View Elementary; 2. Samuel Yeager, Canyon de Chelly Elementary; 3. Jakeem Paul, Lukachukai Elementary School.

Seventh grade: 1. Kristopher Pouncy, Chinle Junior High; 2. Arcada Harrison, Rock Point Community School; 3. Keandra Sam, Rock Point Community School.

Eighth grade: 1. Ashley Yellowhorse; 2. Gaven Beach, Rock Point Community School; 3. Liane Uy, Piñon Middle School.

According to Shawna Claw with the Office of Youth Development, which coordinated the bee, participation was down this year because of school budget cuts.

"Several schools said they couldn't come up with the $90 entry fee required by (national spelling bee sponsor) Scripps-Howard," Claw said.

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