It wasn't a history book or classroom lecture that helped Andrew Zhou win The Honolulu Advertiser's 22nd annual Hawai'i State Spelling Bee yesterday.

Zhou credits Saturday morning cartoons.

The 13-year-old eighth-grader at Stevenson Middle School on O'ahu correctly spelled "Geronimo" to capture the crown as Hawai'i's top speller. He now goes to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., May 30-31.

Zhou survived 14 grueling rounds of spelling, and when he was presented with the championship word in round 15, he said, he knew immediately how to spell it.

"You know when they jump off the cliff?" he said of many cartoon characters. "They yell, 'Geronimo.' "

But it wasn't just that word — actually the name of the famed Chiricahua Apache leader who lived from 1829 to 1909 — that gave Zhou the title. He had to prevail in a field of 14 of the state's top spellers to reach the final with Kellie Kurasaki, an eighth-grader at Kaua'i's Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School.

Zhou and Kurasaki reached the finals despite incorrectly spelling words in rounds 11 and 12. Because no one got their words right, they were allowed to re-enter the bee.

In round 14, Kurasaki misspelled "garnishee," and that opened the door for Zhou. He correctly spelled "dubiety" and then "Geronimo" for the title.

Zhou was the most animated of the 14 spellers and would often chat with new friend Spencer Setka during breaks. Zhou also applauded fellow spellers when they correctly spelled a word and would flash a thumbs up.

But Zhou, who turns 14 on Friday, admitted he was nervous, particularly during the frequent TV breaks. "I was expecting to do really, really bad because everybody else is supposed to be the best of their districts," said Zhou, who was the Honolulu District champion. "I thought I would get out early. I guess I was pretty lucky because I got a lot of the words that I knew."

Zhou's parents, Jack and Phoebe Zhou, beamed after their son was crowned state champ.

"I'm very excited and I feel it's all the blessings from God, because he did not spend a lot of time in preparation," Jack Zhou said. "I did not anticipate that he would win, so I'm surprised."

Andrew Zhou disagreed and said he put in many hours of practice leading up to yesterday's bee. "Practice was pretty important. Even if you don't get any of the words, it still helps you focus," he said.

Phoebe Zhou credited her son's teacher/coach Irene Ueda with guiding him to the title. Ueda said it was all Andrew.

"Andrew is very self-motivated," Ueda said. "If he's given something that interests him, he will focus in on it. I would say 98 percent of all of this came from him."

Runner-up Kurasaki said she too was surprised to do so well. "I thought I was going to get out in the first round, because I wasn't sure how difficult the words were going to be," said the 13-year-old. When she made it to the finals, she "thought it would be possible to win."

Proud parents Laura and James Kurasaki traveled from Kaua'i to support their daughter. "It was so stressful. I was pacing back there," Laura Kurasaki said.

The bee, held at Windward Community College's Paliku Theatre, will be televised this week on Oceanic's OC16.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.