A trio of Howard County high school seniors has pulled off a rare feat.

The three students made a clean sweep of the regional level of a national poetry recitation contest for high school students last month and are now in the throes of rehearsing for the state finals March 2 at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Their school sponsors say they each have the skills, confidence and self-awareness to win the final.

The finalists from region two are Hanna Al-Kowsi, first-place winner from Marriotts Ridge High School; Jay Barrett, second-place winner from Reservoir High School; and Poushali Banerjee, third-place winner from Centennial High School.

Along with Howard County, region two encompasses Anne Arundel, Calvert, Montgomery and St. Mary’s counties. Maryland is divided into three regions for the contest.

The students compete individually, not as a team, and recite at each level the same three poems they independently chose.

One Maryland student will be selected Saturday to advance to the national finals of Poetry Out Loud to be held April 30 and May1 in Washington.

See POETRY, page 5