State Spelling Bee tomorrow

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

They've danced "flamenco," triumphed over "paralysis," and mastered "mononucleosis."

Now, 14 of Hawai'i's top spellers will gather tomorrow for The Honolulu Advertiser's Hawai'i State Spelling Bee and a chance to compete in May at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington.

The contest will be broadcast at 5 p.m. on KHON television.

The seventh- and eighth-graders — 10 girls and four boys, from seven public and seven private schools — won school bees to qualify for the district championships. Once there, they finished in the top two to become eligible for the state finals. The district bees were in February.

The Advertiser is sponsoring the state bee for the 16th year.

Last year's state winner was Heidi Maeda, the third state champion in the Maeda family. Heidi correctly spelled "ampicillin" to win the state crown. The then-eighth-grader at Kawananakoa Middle School made it to the third round of the national bee. She was eliminated when she misspelled "limnology."

To be eligible for this year's bee, students had to have not completed the eighth grade at the time of their school's finals, and must be younger than 16 at the time of the national finals.

This year's contestants include:

• Tyler Yoshiyama, 13, Hilo Intermediate, Hawai'i District winner, son of Larry and Dale Yoshiyama.

• Kimberly Reinhold, 13, St. Joseph Junior and Senior High School, Hawai'i District runner-up, daughter of Charles and Rhoda Reinhold.

• Alyssa Nee, 14, Kailua Intermediate, Windward District winner, guardian Patricia Nee.

• Vanessa Cabe, 13, St. Ann's School, Windward District runner-up, daughter of Mario and Judy Cabe of Kane'ohe.

• Nicholas Jachowski, 14, Kalama Intermediate, Maui District winner, son of Douglas and Maile Jachowski of Makawao.

• Ariel Pacleb, 13, 'Iao School, Maui District runner-up, daughter of Gilbert and Teresa Pacleb.

• Matthew Won, 13, 'Iolani School, Honolulu District winner, son of Reed and Angie Won.

• Samuel Morales, 13, Kawananakoa Middle School, Honolulu District runner-up, son of Alexander Flores and Angelina Khoury.

• Catherine Bailey, 14, Island School, Kaua'i District winner, daughter of Joe and Cyndi Bailey.

• Heather Haack, 12, Waimea Canyon, Kaua'i District runner-up, daughter of Dennis and Laura Haack.

• Maria Fischer, 12, Lanakila Baptist High School, Leeward District winner, daughter of Stanley and Becky Fischer.

• Tracy Alambatin, 13, 'Ilima Intermediate, Leeward District runner-up, daughter of Henry and Lilia Alambatin.

• Nadya Soto, 13, Hanalani Schools, Central District winner, daughter of Carmen and Jesus Soto.

• Christina Cox, 14, Holy Family Catholic Academy, Central District runner-up, daughter of Eiko and Alan Cox of 'Aiea.

Yoshiyama, Haack and Fischer are in the seventh grade; all others are in the eighth grade.

The state champion will receive a Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary; a $200 Sears merchandise certificate; a Radio Shack compact disc player; a $100 U.S. savings bond from Samuel Louis Sugarman; a Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee gift certificate; and, for the winner's parents, a $20 Tesoro Hawaii gift certificate.

The winner of second place in Hawai'i will receive a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, a $100 Sears merchandise certificate, a Radio Shack CD player and a national spelling bee gift certificate. The second place contestant's parents will receive a $10 gift certificate from Tesoro Hawaii.

The state champion's school will receive a computer and printer from Comp USA, and the winning and second-place spellers' schools will receive a World Book Millennium 2001 Multimedia Reference Library from the Hawai'i Court Reporters Association.

All contestants in the finals will receive a spelling bee T-shirt, certificate and backpack from The Advertiser; a 2001 World Almanac and Book of Facts from Anderson News Co., two movie passes from Consolidated Theatres, a $25 Sears merchandise certificate; a Fun Factory Honor Roll program $50 gift certificate; and $10 Tesoro Hawaii gift certificates for parents.

Aloha Airlines will fly Neighbor Island contestants to O'ahu for the state competition at no charge.