When it comes to spelling bees, everyone wants the last word.
For the second straight year, Scripps National Spelling Bee crowned two champions.
Vanya Shivashankar, a 13-year-old from Kansas correctly spelled “scherenschnitte,” and 14-year-old Missouri native Gokul Venkatachalam won with “nunatak.” The co-champs beat out 283 contestants for the title.
"My final word was scherenschnitte and I knew it immediately, but I still wanted to ask the questions to make sure I got it right," said Vanya.
This was Vanya's fifth time competing, and some say spelling is in her genes. Her sister won the bee in 2009.
"She was really proud of me, and told me that she couldn't be more happy," said Vanya.
Vanya and Gokul say they're happy sharing the title. When asked about what's next, these co-champions are looking forward to the same thing.
"Summer," said Vanya.
"Yeah, summer," said Gokul.
As for their career plans, Vanya is an aspiring cardiac surgeon and Gokul hopes to go to Stanford and become an entrepreneur or stockbroker.
