And the winner of the 2017 Samoa News Territorial Spelling Bee is Avril Regis of St. Theresa’s Elementary School, Malaeloa.
She spelled the 338th word in the competition, “ointment” correctly then aced the final word: “despicable.”
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Alan Feagai from Le’atele Elementary had incorrectly spelled the word “cuticle” to settle for second place in the drawn out contest, which was live on KVZK- TV.
Avril says she was confident about the word “despicable” having watched a cartoon movie of the same name several times.
She told KHJ News it was an honor to win the competition for her school, St. Theresa’s and represent American Samoa at the National Bee in the nation’s capital.
Play Audio 2017 bee winner
Allen Feagai of Le’atele was second and there was a tie for 3rd place between Sharon Lavea of Laulii Elementary and Toalei Toelupe of Aua Elementary.
McDonald’s Restaurant was the main sponsor of the Territorial Spelling Bee organized by Samoa News with the support of various local businesses.
