Maria Cataluna was speechless. But middle son Andre was totally seventh-grade cool when he found out at a May 22 assembly at St. Philomena School in Carson that he'd been named grand champion among 145,000 students in the National Handwriting Contest sponsored by the Zaner-Bloser Publishing Company.

"I didn't know I was going to win, but I wasn't going to be surprised when I did win," the soft-spoken 13-year-old told The Tidings. "I knew I had a chance."

"Oh, I'm speechless," said his mother, who was on hand for the impromptu awards ceremony, held in the parochial school's hallway instead of outside because of spring showers. "I mean, to me it's amazing. He's an overachiever anyway, so this just adds to that."

Andre and the other contestants had to meticulously copy a sentence by hand. Then they had to answer the vexing query: Why is good legible handwriting important to you?

"I just said when people look at my handwriting and like it, I like to know they're liking what I've done," he recalled.

After being chosen as having the best handwriting for seventh-graders in California, Andre garnered the same grade-level award for the entire country in April. But this week came the coup de grace --- his penmanship was the best of the best for grades first-through-eighth in the whole United States.

He received a backpack full of plaques and prizes valued at more than $1,500, including a $500 U.S. Savings Bond and FLY Pentop Computer. St. Philomena received a computer loaded with Zaner-Bloser handwriting software for its seventh grade classroom, plus a $100 gift certificate for Zaner-Bloser learning materials.

"His penmanship started at home," Maria reported. "I always tear up my boys' homework when it's not neat and make them redo it. I had good handwriting when I was in school, and I wanted to pass that along to my children."

Standing nearby, Andre half-grins. "If it was ugly, she'd tear it up."