Congratulations to Angniun Opriann Lomack & Allikaar Richelle Phillip!
The 2019 first-place winner of the Yup'ik Spelling Bee for Beginners is Angniun Opriann Lomack from the Akiachak School. She racked up the most points of any speller in just the first round. This was the sixth grader's first time competing, though her win was the second time the Yupiit School District has placed in the competition. She said there weren't any words that tripped her up - she knew them all. Narrowing down the runners-up was trickier. The judges had to cycle through multiple word lists in several tiebreaker rounds to close in on Auna Friday of Chevak and sixth grader Allikaar Richelle Phillip, also from the Akiachak School, as the second- and third-place winners respectively. - Click here for the full April 2019 article from the Anchorage Daily News
Above: The 2019 winner of the Yup'ik Spelling Bee, Angniun Opriann Lomack from Akiachak (photo from Freda Dan on the Learn Yup'ik Facebook page) - Listen to a news story on Alaska Public Media & KYUK radio - click here to listen to audio.
Right: The 2018 winner of the State Yup'ik Spelling Bee, Nurataaq (Mathias Phillip) from Tuluksak School, Yupiit School District, demonstrates the spelling skills that made him a champion at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Click here or on photo to read and play the 2018 video on the Anchorage Daily News website!!. The 2018 1st place winner was Matthias Phillip of Tuluksak, 2nd place was Vyshone Chingliak of Akiachak, 3rd place winner was Tyresha Andrews of Akiak.