https://stage.centralmaine.com/2019/05/31/the-latest-national-spelling-bee-ends-in-8-way-tie

National Spelling Bee ends in an unprecedented 8-way tie

The co-champions are declared after 5 straight perfect rounds.

Posted May 31, 2019

Updated May 31, 2019

Associated Press

1 min read

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The eight co-champions of the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee, from left, Shruthika Padhy, 13, of Cherry Hill, N.J., Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Ala., Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of San Jose, Calif., Christopher Serrao, 13, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., Saketh Sundar, 13, of Clarksville, Md., Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Dallas, Texas, Rohan Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas, and Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Flower Mound, Texas, hold the trophy at the end of the competition early Friday in Oxon Hill, Md. Associated Press/Susan Walsh

OXON HILL, Md. — Eight spellers were better than the dictionary. They were better than anything the Scripps National Spelling Bee could throw at them. And they all ended up with a hand on the trophy.

In the most extraordinary ending in the 94-year history of the competition, the bee ended in an eight-way tie late Thursday night. The eight co-champions spelled the final 47 words correctly, going through five consecutive perfect rounds.

Each will get the full winner’s prize of $50,000 in cash.

The winners are: Rishik Gandhasri, Erin Howard, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao and Rojan Raja.

Maine State Spelling Bee champion Sebastian Shields, a seventh-grader at Saco Middle School, made it to the third round.

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National Spelling Bee ends in an unprecedented 8-way tie

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