Pokryfki takes Adult Spelling Bee

WASILLA — The cherry on top of the first seven Adult Summer Reading Programs at the Wasilla Public Library was the adult spelling bee in the 99-year-old one room schoolhouse behind the library, with portraits of Lincoln and Washington above the blackboard.

And though the reading program saw its run come to an end after 2015, the bee wasn’t about to be stopped, spelling on for an eighth straight year. And for the second time in five years, Sammye Pokryfki took the top prize, claiming victory in round 11 on the word ‘curvilinear.’

And with that successful spelling of the adjective meaning, “contained by or consisting of a curved line or lines,” Pokryfki had fended off the last of 17 competitors, winning her a $100 prize and bragging rights among her fellow elite spellers.

“I don’t think it was as hard as some of the other words,” Pokryfki said. “Some of those bonus words were really hard.”

The year before, when the bee was won by Lu Gallego, it took 16 rounds to decide it, which, if it had gone so far this year, would have encountered the likes of Oie de Beuof and Jalousie.

“This was one of the more popular aspects of the Adult Summer Reading Program, and we didn’t do that this year, but this part had to stay due to outcry from the public,” said librarian Sara Saxton. “We try to make it as stress-free as possible in a comfortable atmosphere where people can get together and spell some hard words.”

Saxton said each year there is a waiting list to make the field capped at 20. On Thursday night, three of the four on the waiting list got the call, but in the end, there were only 18 entered.

Pokryfki’s winning word in 2012 — her first year in the contest — was ‘millennium.’

“Two ‘L’s’, two ‘N’s’, it’s not as easy as you might think,” said Pokryfki, who, when she’s not establishing spelling dominance, works for the Rasmussen Foundation, a charitable family fund that makes donations to charities. “This is a really wonderful event; I love it.”

Pokryfki said top spellers tend to have one thing in common.

“I think it’s more just about people who like to read,” she said. “A lot of times people who read a lot are good spellers. These are good readers who want to support the library and have fun.”

Saxton is hopeful when the new Wasilla Library opens soon, that more activities like the annual spelling bee will help draw more people to the library lifestyle.

“We have been limited by our space,” she said.

Contact editor Matt Hickman at 352-2268 or matt.hickman@frontiersman.com.