"Plantain" — that was the word that won eighth-grader Andrew Zhou the Honolulu District Spelling Bee yesterday at Sacred Hearts Academy.

Zhou, of Stevenson Middle School, and runner-up Jen Rasay, of Kalakaua Middle School, will compete in the state Spelling Bee on March 11. Some 36 spellers from public and private schools participated in yesterday's bee. There are five other district bees scheduled this month.

Rasay competed in the bee with her sister, Shayne. The two helped each other practice and say their favorite hobbies are reading and writing.

"For our writing assignments, we can use words we use from our study list," Jen Rasay said. Her sister added, "It's our habit to write down words."

Allison Stone, a librarian at Saint Patrick School, said she saw her students get excited about competing in the bee. But they had to keep those butterflies at bay, or they could get the best of them.

"Standing on stage in front of a whole lot of people can be really nerve-wracking," Stone said. "A lot of them made simple mistakes that they wouldn't normally make if they were just writing."

The bee lasted more than two hours. In the last several rounds, three contestants faced off against each other over and over again.

Kenton Nakamura, a seventh-grader at 'Iolani School, took third place. Fourth and fifth places went to Hanelyne Derepite of Central Middle School, and Hayley Luke of Kawananakoa Middle School.

The two winners from each district bee will compete at the state Spelling Bee, which will be telecast on OC-16.

The state winner will receive an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete in May at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.