Schuylkill champ: 'I want to do well' in Scripps National Spelling Bee
May 27—ORWIGSBURG — An eighth grader who's been in love with words since he was a child leaves Sunday to represent Schuylkill County in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Tyler Kulikosky, 14, outspelled about 40 competitors from 18 schools in March to win the 67th Republican Herald Regional Spelling Bee at Penn State Schuylkill.
Preliminary rounds of the national contest begin Tuesday, with the finals to be held Thursday at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Maryland near the nation's capital.
"I'm positive about it," Tyler said Saturday during an interview at his home. "I want to do well."
He's been studying "Words of the Champions," a compilation of words from previous Scripps national spelling bees.
Memorizing several thousand words is somewhat futile, so Tyler concentrates on understanding the French, German, Latin and Greek origins of words.
A word like "llullaillaco," for example, is the name of a dormant volcano on the border of Chile and Argentina.
The tricky part, however, is that the letter 'L' is basically silent in Spanish, and could be confusing to a speller.
Jennifer Kulikosky, Tyler's mom, said they google pronunciations of words when studying.
Tyler's dad, Steven, says he's never heard of some of the words in the study book.
A word like "Tchefuncte," which is listed in the study book, would be common in New Orleans, but not Orwigsburg.
It's the name of the river that drains into Lake Pontchartrain. And its origin is in Native American Choctaw.
Or, "whakapapa," also listed in the book. It's pronounced "fakapapa" in the Maori culture of New Zealand. It refers to genealogy.
One tactic Tyler employs is to break up the word into portions, say like "wha-ka-papa."
Tyler says one of his strengths is in geography, a passion of his since childhood. He knows the names and flags of every country in the world.
Another strength, he says, is that he's comfortable onstage before an audience.
A member of the Blue Mountain Middle School Drama Club, he recently performed the role of Willy Wonka in "Willy Wonka Jr."
"I like being on stage," says Tyler, who's also in the school's chorus.
Tyler's not taking along any lucky charms to the national bee. His grandmother, "Nanny" Mary Kulikosky, will be wearing a bee broach all week, he says.
Clutching the trophy after winning the Republican Herald spelling bee in March, Tyler called her from an auditorium at Penn State Schuylkill.
"Guess what, Nanny, I won," a jubilant Tyler said. "I got the trophy."
Tyler spelled "heterosis" to win the spelling bee over runner-up Avery Zeroual, 14, of Pottsville's D.H.H. Lengel Middle School.
Tyler was coached by Stephanie Gatti, a librarian at Blue Mountain East Elementary School. More recently, he's been tutored by Shaunna Crossen, a professor at Penn State Berks.
Tyler's heading to the spelling bee with an anything-can-happen attitude.
Tyler wishes he could have studied a little more, but he had to balance preparing for the bee with school work and extracurricular activities.
At eighth grade graduation recently, he received awards for excellence in academics and music.
"No matter how much preparation goes into it, there's always an element of luck in the outcome," said Steven Kulikosky, a retired state trooper.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee 2023 has 231 competitors ages 9 to 14. For 80% of the spellers, it is their first national competition. Eleven are from outside the U.S., including Germany, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
"I'm very excited about meeting new people and seeing where they come from," Tyler said.
The preliminary, quarter- and semifinals air on ION Plus and Bounce XL from Tuesday to Wednesday. The finals air on ION and Bounce from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, according to the Scripps website.
Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007
