National

Another Year, Another Impasse As 2 Win Scripps National Spelling Bee

11:35pm May 26, 2016

by Dana Farrington

Nihar Janga, 11, of Texas, left, and Jairam Hathwar, 13, of New York, celebrate Thursday in National Harbor, Md., after being named co-champions in the 2016 National Spelling Bee. Jacquelyn Martin/AP

At the end of the night, the Scripps National Spelling Bee was out of words — and so was Nihar Saireddy Janga, co-winner with Jairam Jagadeesh Hathwar and the youngest speller to make the top 10.

"I'm just speechless," he said. "I can't say anything, I'm only in fifth grade."

It's the third straight year the bee has had two winners.

Janga, 11, of Austin, Texas, was one of the youngest spellers in the top 10. He nearly won outright twice in the championship rounds following errors by Hathwar, but each time flubbed a single letter. An audience favorite, he often verified definitions of obscure words with the judges — "is that an Irish prime minister?" — rather than requesting them.

Hathwar, 13, of Corning, N.Y., follows in the footsteps of his brother Sriram, who competed in the national bee five times, and was one of two winners in 2014.

The winning words were Feldenkrais — a physical education system — for Hathwar and gesellschaft — a type of social association — for Janga.

The 10 finalists coming into the night ranged in age from 11 to 14. It was the first time four of them, including Janga, had been in the event. Five have competed once before, including Hathwar, and one had participated twice before.