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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, February 22, 2003

Eighth-grader spells 'krakowiak' to win Maui contest

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

WAILUKU, Maui — Maui Waena Intermediate eighth-grader Nathaniel Salazar survived 23 rounds Thursday night to capture The Honolulu Advertiser Spelling Bee's Maui District contest.

Salazar, who finished third at last year's state bee, didn't quite do a "krakowiak," a Polish folk dance, to celebrate his victory, but he did spell the word correctly to prevail over runner-up Jasmine Siefman, a seventh-grader at Kalama Intermediate.

The contest, held at Baldwin High School, started with 19 spellers. Siefman, 12, was a cool customer throughout the competition, spelling each word she was given without hesitation. But after she and Salazar went four rounds head-to-head without a miss, Siefman stumbled on "psephology," the scientific study of elections. Salazar, 13, got a chance to spell that word correctly and then nailed the final one to win.

Salazar is the son of Manuel and Wilma Salazar of Kahului; Siefman's parents are Robert and Marilyn Siefman of Kula.

The district champion and runner-up in each of seven districts statewide qualify for The Honolulu Advertiser State Spelling Bee, which will be shown on KFVE at 5 p.m. March 30.

The 14 district winners will receive gifts from Sears, Island Heritage, Consolidated Theatres and Anderson News Co., along with spelling bee merchandise.

Supporting sponsors for this year's state competition are Island Heritage, Aloha Airlines and CompUSA.

The State Spelling Bee champion also wins an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in May; a Webster's Third New International Dictionary; a $200 Sears merchandise certificate; a $100 U.S. savings bond from Jay Sugarman; a PDA hand-held computer from Radio Shack; a $100 cash award from Dede and James Sutherland; and a gift basket from Island Heritage.

Travel for Neighbor Island participants is provided by Aloha Airlines.

The schedule for the remaining district bees is:

  • Hawai'i district, 1 p.m. today, Hilo High School.
  • Honolulu district, 2 p.m. today, Sacred Hearts Academy.
  • Leeward district, 7 p.m. Friday, Kapolei Middle School.