Alaska native language spelling bee runs for record time

An Alaska native language spelling bee has set a record for the time taken to produce a winner.

KYUK-AM reported Monday that the Statewide Yup'ik Spelling Bee for Beginners in Anchorage April 13 began with 18 contestants at 11 a.m. and did not name the top three finishers until after 3 p.m.

Officials say Angniun Opriann Lomack, a sixth grader from Akiachak, spelled every word she was given in the first round.

Contest officials say the finalists for second and third place each spoke a different dialect of Yup'ik.

Officials say the contest began eight years ago to help students learn to write Yup'ik, and that the contest rules do not allow elimination for a misspelled word.

Officials say contestants continue spelling new words to accumulate the highest scores.