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Front row from left to right, Osage Cherokees team members are Baylee Cox, Dillon Baker, Drake Nunley, Julia Hough and Darrian Champlain.

TAHLEQUAH, OKLAHOMA - Pryor's Osage Elementary defeated a field of 11 other teams to win the eighth annual Cherokee Challenge Bowl, sponsored by the Cherokee Nation.

"The competition focused on content related to Cherokee history, culture, government and language," said Michael Smith, with the Cherokee Nation education department.

The Osage Cherokees from Osage Elementary School in Pryor, Okla. won the top spot in the kindergarten though second grade division. First place team members are Baylee Cox, Dillon Baker, Drake Nunley, Julia Hough, and Darrian Champlain. The second place Gore A-wo-ha-li team members from Gore Elementary in Gore, Okla. are Dalton Adams, Allison Sitton, Erica Guinn, Timber McKinney and Raven Hulse. Third place Maryetta U-s-di A-wo-ha-li team members from Maryetta Elementary in Stilwell are Peyton Hothouse, Jack Ragsdale, Katlynn Kent, Jolee Gonzales, Lakyn Ragsdale.

Winners will receive prizes at the awards ceremony on April 14 at the Southern Hills Marriott Hotel in Tulsa.

Related Cherokee Nation contact information:

Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager Cherokee Nation - Public Affairs Phone 918-456-0671 (Ex.2324) E-mail: ldaugherty@cherokee.org

Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Specialist Phone: 918-456-0671 (ex.2843) E-mail: bpeak@cherokee.org