Jamaica Go was staring victory in the face last night at the Central District Spelling Bee. And she didn't even know it.

The eighth-grader at Holy Family Catholic Academy needed to spell "palindromic" and "militia" to win the district crown. A "palindrome" is a word that is spelled the same in either direction, such as "bob."

Her opponent in the final round?

Hannah.

But Go said she wasn't aware of the definition of the word and didn't know that "Hannah" was a palindrome.

"I just took a guess," Go said. "I usually know the spelling more than the definition."

Regardless, Go will represent her district at the state spelling bee next month. Go is the daughter of Rosemarie and Jesse Go.

Runner-up Hannah Komar, a seventh-grader at Our Savior Lutheran School, also will move on to the state bee. Komar, daughter of Midori and Keith Komar, misspelled "fluorescent" in the next-to-last round.

Spelling champions from 84 schools will compete in seven district spelling bees through February. The winner and runner-up from each district bee will qualify for The Honolulu Advertiser's 24th Hawaii State Spelling Bee, set for March 15 at Windward Community College's Paliku Theatre.

The state champion will receive a trip for two to Washington, D.C., and represent Hawai'i in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. The winner also will be awarded a $100 U.S. savings bond from Jay Sugarman.

The national bee will award prizes ranging from $50 to $12,000.

Last night's event was the fourth of seven district spelling bees in Hawai'i. The Leeward District bee is tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Waipahu Intermediate School.

The Honolulu bee is Saturday at Sacred Hearts Academy. The Big Island bee is Feb. 28 at the NHERC Facility in Honoka'a.