Kapa'a girl district spelling champ

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

PUHI, Kaua'i — Stephanie Kawamura, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Kapa'a Middle School, spelled "debris" and "inundation" to clinch victory in the Kaua'i District Spelling Bee last night.

She won in the ninth round, after runner-up Teague Blair, 12, of Kaua'i Christian Academy, missed "irascibility."

The two battled for four rounds after knocking out Chelsea Ching, of Chiefess Kamakahelei School, and Earl Jay Padilla, of Waimea Canyon School, in the fifth round.

The other participants were Jenna Akasaki, of Chiefess Kamakahelei; Santo Saldana, Kapa'a Middle School; Lynell Wright, Waimea Canyon; Diana Cowern and Kaala-Rae Leong, Island School; and Michael Lindsey and Gabe Roessler, St. Catherine School.

The Kaua'i bee, one of 14 district competitions, was held on the Chiefess Kamakahelei campus in Puhi. District winners go on to the State Spelling Bee, which is sponsored by The Advertiser. The state champion will represent Hawai'i at the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, which will be held in Washington in May

The remaining district bee schedule is:

• Leeward, today 7 p.m., Kapolei Middle School.

• Windward, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Le Jardin Academy.

• Central, Feb. 20, 6 p.m., Mililani Middle School.