Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Sara Ellingrod of Arvada-Clearmont H.S. named winner of Wyoming Poetry Out Loud competition

Sara Ellingrod, a ninth-grader at Arvada-Clearmont High School in Sheridan County, is this year’s winner of the Wyoming Poetry Out Loud finals held in Cheyenne on Monday.

As this year’s champion, Ellingrod receives an expenses-paid trip with a chaperone to Washington, D.C., where she will represent Wyoming at the Poetry Out Loud finals, April 28-29.

Ellingrod receives $200 and a poetry anthology. She also earned a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books for her school.

This is the second straight year that a student from Arvada-Clearmont High School has won the Wyoming competition. There are 23 students in grades 9-12.

Additionally, for the first time, two runner-up awards were presented. Receiving runner-up honors are Tyler Clementson of Shoshoni High School and Jon Adams of Cheyenne East High School.

Both Clementson and Adams receive $100 and a poetry anthology. Also, their schools receive a $200 stipend to buy poetry books.

The awards were presented Tuesday in a State Capitol Rotunda ceremony by Secretary of State Max Maxfield and Wyoming Poet Laureate David Romtvedt from Buffalo.

In addition to Ellingrod, Clementson and Adams, ten other students – the most ever for the competition – participated. Those students are Eddie Collins, Dubois; Alicia Juanita Sanchez, Ft. Washakie School; Pheonix Hardin, Whiting High School in Laramie; Bryce McKenzie, Buffalo High School; Hannah Hout, Star Lane Center in Casper; Marco Dominguez, Kaycee High School; Alyssa Prado, Cheyenne South High School; Raena Bush, Sundance High School; Maddison Nielson, Jackson High School; and Izzy Jack, Cheyenne Central High School.

Judges for this year’s competition were Maxfield; Sophia Puccini, poet and dancer from Saratoga; and special guest judge, Detroit writer and poet M.L. Liebler.

The Wyoming Arts Council invites high school students involved in creative writing, drama and speech and debate to encourage their teachers to sign up for next year’s Poetry Out Loud program. The WAC will send out registration information in September.

FMI: Linda Coatney at the WAC at 307-777-6393 or lcoatn@state.wy.us. For info Poetry Out Loud please visit www.poetryoutloud.org/ .

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