WAILUKU, Maui — Montessori School of Maui seventh-grader Coleby Hanisch survived eight rounds of head-to-head competition to capture the Maui District Spelling Bee crown last night at 'Iao Intermediate School in Wailuku.

Not bad for a guy who didn't study much for the contest. Hanisch, 12, who prefers science and electronics over spelling, said he spent only two weeks practicing for the spelling bee, and not very hard at that. Instead of spending the hours leading up to the contest reviewing the word list, the Pukalani student was absorbed in the latest issue of Popular Mechanics.

"I just spelled things the way it sounds," he said.

Even his mother was a little surprised her son did so well.

"We really didn't study that much but he's a great reader. He's been reading really well since he was very young," said Karen Hanisch.

The contest began with 18 spellers from 10 Maui County schools. By the 10th round, only Hanisch and Thomas Vu-Tran of Sacred Hearts School in Lahaina remained.

The two traded hits and misses through Round 16, when Hanisch correctly spelled "allegro" and Vu-Tran, who likes tennis and computer games, missed on "rhetoric." Hanisch easily spelled "synergy" in the final round to claim the district title.

Both students will advance to The Advertiser's 22nd annual Hawai'i State Spelling Bee on March 11. The bee will be televised on OC-16.

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

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.