For Keauhou's first family of spelling, 13-year-old Talmage Nakamoto's performance at Saturday's Big Island District Spelling Bee was sweet as, oh, citronella.

Nakamoto, who represented Hawai'i in last year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, won his third consecutive Big Island qualifier in the 14th round by correctly spelling the collective name of several types of trees and shrubs in the cymbopogon species, the oil of which is used in perfumes and insect repellents.

Madison Inman, a seventh-grader at Hawai'i Preparatory Academy, placed second in the competition.

In the pivotal 13th round, Nakamoto successfully spelled "quarantine," while Inman tripped over "whippoorwill," a type of bird.

Nakamoto, of Konawaena Middle School, comes from impressive spelling stock. His older brother, Teagan, was a state finalist in 2005 and 2006.

Nakamoto's mother, Lori, said Talmage used to practice in Teagan's place when Teagan got tired. He now practices twice a week at school with his teacher Georgia Goeas, and the rest of the week at home with his father, Shan.

The family is already hard at work preparing Talmage to tackle the 20,000-word list that will be used at the state finals.

As the top two finishers in their district, Nakamoto and Inman will join 12 other finalists from around the state in The Honolulu Advertiser's 24th Hawai'i 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 will also receive a $100 savings bond from Jay Sugarman.