Sarah Rye was brought to the center of the stage Thursday, handed a trophy and named champion rather than being hauled under a ship after spelling the word “keelhaul” correctly at the Flathead County Spelling Bee.

This spelling sailor got the nautical term in the 19th round of the bee, beating 26 competitors. The bee was held on stage in the Glacier High School Performance Hall.

Rye, a home-schooled Kalispell eighth-grader had no trouble getting the audience to hang off her every word — every letter to be more specific. In the third round, the audience realized just how deliberate her spelling method was when she received the word “iguana.”

“I-g-u-a,” Rye said, pausing between each letter, then using her finger to “write” the word in her palm. After a long pause she continued spelling, “n-a,” the audience releasing a simultaneous sigh of relief.

After correctly spelling words such as “gunnysack,” “strudel,” “pampas,” “catkin” and “schnauzer,” Rye said she couldn’t recall what word she found most difficult to spell.

“I don’t remember, but the one that I remember most is ‘iguana.’ I was trying to remember if there was an extra ‘u’ in front of the ‘n,’” Rye said.

Second-place winner Keira Niemeyer, an eighth-grader at Swan River School, was a tough competitor. After Artyom Shostak of Kila School took third place in the seventh round, Niemeyer and Rye went head-to-head for the next 11 rounds.

As Niemeyer took the stage, she appeared confident, but after the competition, she said, “I was super tense and nervous, but after the first word I fine.”

Both students agreed they are known as good spellers in their families and Niemeyer said reading is key. In an era of spellcheck, being a good speller has relevance.

“I guess if everything shut down you’d need to be able to know the basics of how to spell stuff and not to rely on something to do it for you,” Niemeyer said.

After the other spellers left the performance hall, Rye’s family walked on to the stage to give her hugs and congratulations.

“She won,” her 8-year-old sister Abigail shouted.

Rye now advances to the state spelling bee March 19 in Billings.

“We’ll have to start throwing harder words at you,” her father Robert said, smiling at his daughter.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].