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First photo above: Poetry Out Loud regional winners Laney Pham, left, and Isabella Daltoso. Second photo: All of the Clark County participants, including Sullivan Gui, third from left, of Fort Vancouver High School. Photos courtesy of ESD 112.

Isabella Daltoso of Vancouver School of Arts and Academics and Laney Pham of Battle Ground High School were the top two finishers in the Southwest Washington Regional Poetry Out Loud contest, Educational Service District 112 recently announced in a press release.

Pham recited “Personal” by Tony Hoagland and “To Have Without Holding” by Marge Piercy.

Daltoso, a sophomore, recited “The Arrow and the Song” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and “The Speakers” by Weldon Kees.

Fort Vancouver High School senior Sullivan Gui also was among the Clark County participants in the contest, which challenges students to memorize and recite great poems.

As the top two finishers, Daltoso and Pham advance to the March 4 statewide competition, where they will compete for prizes and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., for the national Poetry Out Loud contest.

The regional competition was presented by ESD 112 in partnership with the Washington State Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.