After nine decades, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has finally been outdone, and eight different kids from across the country are the reason why.
Entering this week's 92nd annual competition, there had only been six two-way ties atop the most famous spelling bee in the history of the televised spectacle. But after 20 rounds of action in National Harbor on Thursday night, the National Spelling Bee literally found itself devoid of words to challenge its final eight contestants and opted to crown its first-ever "octo-champs" -- an unprecedented eight-way split of the 2019 national title.
"We will soon run out of words that will possibly challenge you," longtime Bee pronouncer Jacques Bailly told the students during the competition, as The Washington Post reported. "We're throwing the dictionary at you. And so far, you are showing this dictionary who is boss."
Every one of the eight students ultimately succeeded with 20th-round spellings -- "erysipelas" and "bougainvillea" among the words -- and received a $50,000 first-place prize, which is typically split between contestants in the event of a tie. As Rohan Raja, the last of the eight finalists, spelled his final word ("odylic") correctly, the Post reported, "the ballroom shook and confetti rained down on the stage."
Along with Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas, the following students were crowned victorious: San Jose's Rishik Gandhasri, 13; Alabama's Erin Howard, 14; Maryland's Saketh Sundar, 13; New Jersey's Shruthika Padhy, 13; Dallas' Sohum Sukhatankar, 13; Texas' Abhijay Kodali, 12; and New Jersey's Christopher Serrao, 13.
The students' historic eight-way victory also capped perhaps the most intense spelling bee season since the competition's 1925 inauguration, according to Kayla Epstein and Orion Donovan-Smith.
The 94-year-old competition has become increasingly competitive, with contestants training with coaches and some parents paying to bypass the traditional path to qualify for the annual contest ...
The Bee kicked off Tuesday with its biggest field ever, and the co-champions bested 557 other contestants ranging in age from 7 to 14 in Thursday night's prime-time finals.
