KANE'OHE — It was deja vu for Jasmine Kaneshiro and Jonathan Lee as they went head-to-head for the second year in a row at the Hawai'i State Spelling Bee yesterday at Windward Community College.

The two would go 13 rounds until Kaneshiro, an eighth-grader at Hawaii Baptist Academy, spelled "defervescence" (a subsiding of a fever) to become the first repeat winner of the state spelling bee.

It will also be the second time that Kaneshiro, 14, will move on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. She is the daughter of Renee and Dean Kaneshiro of 'Ewa Beach.

Last year Kaneshiro placed 72nd out of more than 240 contestants at nationals, going out in the third round. This year, she is hoping to make it to the fifth round, when the televised portion of the bee begins.

"I just want to go and have fun and see how far I get," Kaneshiro said.

More than 100 public and private school students from across the state competed in seven district competitions to decide the 14 students who competed in yesterday's bee.

Before yesterday's competition began, Kaneshiro said she was nervous and didn't think there was a chance she could become a repeat spelling champion.

"I wasn't as positive because I knew (Jonathan Lee) was coming back and four other people were, too (from last year's state bee)," Kaneshiro said.

Lee, an eighth-grader from St. Anthony School in Kailua who writes out words with a finger on his name placard during competition, lasted 26 rounds — half of them against Kaneshiro.

During Round 26, he was dealt the word "desideratum" (something that is sought after). He struggled with the pronunciation, asking multiple times for the word to be repeated. After attempting to write the word out, Lee again asked for the word's pronunciation. He finally gave it a shot but misspelled it.

"I really did want to win," Lee said. "But I got this far and I'm proud of myself."

To clinch the title, Kaneshiro needed to correctly spell two words in a row. But she, like Lee, would have to spell from a list of words that did not appear in the 2006 study booklet.

She spelled "autogenous" (of origin within or from oneself) and "defervescence" effortlessly.

Kaneshiro said she was surprised that she was able to win. That's because, in the ninth round, she almost misspelled "interdisciplinary."

"I kind of forgot how to spell 'disciplinary' so I got scared that the journey would end there," she said. "After I spelled it, all the people who came to see me let out this gasp."

Kaneshiro rarely asked for definitions, word origins or even words to be repeated — except with "interdisciplinary." She normally begins spelling seconds after a word is first pronounced.

"I can visualize (words) in my head. It's like I have a paper and just read it," she said.

Kaneshiro has been practicing with her father ever since she returned from last year's national bee.

"She never really stopped studying," said Dean Kaneshiro, a math resource teacher at Ka'i-miloa Elementary School in 'Ewa Beach.

Debra Tenney, Kaneshiro's eighth-grade English teacher, said Kaneshiro "has a very innate ability to spell. Plus, I think she has a very strong work ethic."

Tenney even "edited" the official Hawai'i spelling bee T-shirt, which has a silhouette of a boy holding a trophy.

"I went ahead and drew in a ponytail a month ago. I knew she would win," Tenney said.

As the winner, Kaneshiro receives two trips to Washington to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She also won a $100 U.S. Savings Bond and other prizes.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.