The winning words of Utah's National Spelling Bee finalist

• After correctly spelling "sororal" and defining "primeval," Kapu explored "Australasia" in Tuesday's preliminary rounds.
• Kapu was not "overslaugh(ed)" in his first quarterfinal round, and onlookers praised him lavishly for defining "extol."
• He didn't require "syllogistic" deduction to wear the mantle of semifinalist as he spelled "cyclas" and took charge of "zwitterion."

The latest: Kapu correctly defined "tenebrous" and spelled "Bloemfontein" and "nunnari" and "haysel" at last night's finals before "kelep" got the better of him.

• The word, of Mayan origin, describes a Central American stinging ant.

Catch up quick: This is Kapu's third appearance at the national bee.

The intrigue: He took fifth place last year after becoming one of the few contestants ever to successfully challenge their elimination.

• Judges deliberated for 2 hours before agreeing moderators gave him incomplete dictionary information about the word "leucovorin," a medicine used with chemotherapy.

Of note: One of the first round words was "Deseret."