'Hominivorous' means defeat to state's champ
By Dennie Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — The word means man-eating, and it was the misspelling of "hominivorous" that forced 13-year-old Jasmine A. Kaneshiro of 'Ewa Beach out of the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee here yesterday.
Bill Clark • Gannett News Service
Jasmine, a seventh-grader at Hawaii Baptist Academy, made it through the first two rounds of the competition, completing a 25-word written test in the first round and correctly spelling "puerile," which means juvenile or immature, in the second. Only 97 of the 273 spellers advanced to the third round, based on their combined scores in the first two.
Jasmine A. Kaneshiro, 13, of Hawaii Baptist Academy, made it to the third round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington but was eliminated from the competition when she misspelled a word that means man-eating. She later said she knew the word but "I kind of rushed."
After walking to the microphone for the third round, Jasmine was asked to spell "hominivorous."
She repeated the word one time to check the pronunciation and quickly spelled "h-o-m-i-n-i-f-e-r-o-u-s" only to hear the ding of the elimination bell.
"It was disappointing because I really knew how to spell the word if I had thought about it more," said Jasmine, the only child of Ka'imiloa Elementary School teachers Renee and Dean Kaneshiro. "I kind of rushed."
Jasmine said she was "excited and happy" about her first trip to Washington and about mixing with the other 272 spellers.
The competitors came from all 50 states and the District of Columbia as well as American Samoa, the Bahamas, Canada, Europe, Guam, Jamaica, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"Before today, I thought that I didn't belong and everybody was better than me," Jasmine said during a break in yesterday's competition. "But after today, I see that I'm about the same place as everybody else."
Jasmine, who enjoys reading and writing, said her trip so far has included visiting the Smithsonian Institution's museums — her favorite is the Museum of Natural History — and buying a stuffed-toy platypus to carry home.
"I've enjoyed myself and I've learned a lot," Jasmine said about her visit to the capital. "It's a new experience."
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In addition to her platypus, Jasmine will take home prizes for her effort, including $175 cash, a commemorative watch and a $100 savings bond.
Renee Kaneshiro said she was "really, really proud" that her daughter was able to get this far in the spelling bee.
"She has worked really hard the last couple of months and had a lot of support from her dad, who has been coaching her along with her teacher," she said. "For her, it's kind of been a whirlwind."
Dean Kaneshiro said Jasmine, who is in her first year at Hawaii Baptist Academy, did a lot more than he expected when she first started competing in the spelling bee at the individual school level.
"She has always been a good speller, but I didn't know how good she was," he said.
This year's winner will get $22,000 in cash, a $5,000 college scholarship, a $1,000 savings bond, an engraved loving cup and a reference library.
