It's a Tie! National Spelling Bee: Rare Co-Champions, And A Star Online

NPR ^ | 05/30/2014 | Bill Chappell

[SeekAndFind]

For the first time in 52 years, the Scripps National Spelling Bee crowned two winners last night, after the final two competitors exhausted the word list. The winners were Sriram Hathwar, an eighth-grader from Painted Post, N.Y., and Ansun Sujoe, a seventh-grader from Fort Worth, Texas.

"I like sharing the victory with someone else," Ansun said. "It's been quite shocking and quite interesting, too. It's very rare."

Here are the words that brought Thursday night's competition to a close, from the Scripps Spelling Bee site (we're including the definitions just in case you've forgotten them):

"Sriram's championship word was 'stichomythia,' which means dialogue especially of altercation or dispute delivered in alternating lines (as in classical Greek drama).

"Ansun's was 'feuilleton,' a part of a European newspaper or magazine devoted to material designed to entertain the general reader, or a feature section."

"We both know the competition is against the dictionary, not against each other," Sriram said. "I'm happy to share the trophy with him."

It was the second consecutive year in the finals for Sriram, who said he staged a "furious comeback" after a heartbreaking loss in 2013.

The joint title was made possible after both competitors slipped up in the same round, with Ansun stumbling over "antigropelos" and Sriram getting "corpsbruder" wrong. If either had made those mistakes in a different round, the 2014 Bee would have had only one winner. But now there are two, after the boys spelled their way to glory.

You could say there was a third winner this year, as well: Jacob Williamson, who won a devoted fanbase online with the infectious excitement he let loose at every turn, smiling and cheering on a national stage that has hosted its share of awkwardly painful moments over the years.

[SeekAndFind]

[SeekAndFind]

From Business Insider:

Hathwar, 14, summed it up perfectly when he told ESPN:

“I think we both know that the competition is against the dictionary, not against each other.”

That’s a 14-year-old wise beyond his years.

[C. Edmund Wright]

I ran across this last night channel surfing….and watched about 3 words for each….ASTONISHING!

[C19fan]

According to the Obama administration because the finalists of the Spelling Bee do not match the race/ethnic demographics of the US the contest is racist. They need to find new words, say from rap and hip hop lyircs, or start using Spanish words so underrepresented African-Americans and Latinos can fairly compete against SE Asians and Whites.

[SeekAndFind]

Jacob's passion led Twitter users to appropriate the #TeamJacob hashtag from the Twilight franchise, using it to celebrate along with Jacob as he jumped on stage and raised his fists with a smile after getting words right. He greeted the news that he'd made it to the final by falling to the floor on his knees, smiling.

His fans included NHL player Morgan Rielly, a defender for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Was going to watch the game tonight, but after that the @ScrippsBee final just took priority. #intense #teamjacob— morgan rielly (@mriles4) May 29, 2014

Team Jacob commiserated when he lost.

Drinking because Jacob lost the spelling bee. You can't teach heart and passion like that. #TeamJacob— Lorenzo (@zo_maldonado) May 30, 2014

And in a fashion that likely led some of his new fans to say, "That's so Jacob," the home-schooled student from Cape Coral, Fla., welcomed "kabaragoya," the word that ended his run with his typical enthusiasm: "I know it! I know it! I totally know it!"

But it wasn't meant to be.

#TeamJacob RT @seth_rosenthal: JACOB NO https://t.co/mjhXtauWrz— Sean Ellenby (@Sean_Ellenby) May 30, 2014

[Impy]

Beyond my years too!

[Gaffer]

Why......[mutter, harumpf and stammer] it was all just......just Raciss!......them judges din’t gib us any Ebonics words....it was like they wuz speakin’ in cursive or sumpin’....

[PapaNew]

And if YOU can spell their names correctly, you win the booby prize. And if you can correctly pronounce their names, you get a free ticket to some place that you can’t pronounce.

[SeekAndFind]

LIST OF NATIONL SPELLING BEE CHAMPIONS

Year	Competition-ending word ("winning word" unless otherwise indicated)	Winner	Sponsor	Sponsor's location	Notes[5]
1925	gladiolus	Neuhauser !Frank Neuhauser	The Courier-Journal	Louisville, Kentucky	[6][7]
1926	cerise	Bell !Pauline Bell	The Courier-Journal	Louisville, Kentucky
1927	luxuriance (or asceticism; sources vary)[A]	Lucas !Dean Lucas	Akron Beacon Journal	Akron, Ohio
1928	albumen	Robinson !Betty Robinson	South Bend Tribune	South Bend, Indiana	[8]
1929	asceticism (or luxuriance; sources vary)[A]	Hogan !Virginia Hogan	Omaha World-Herald	Omaha, Nebraska	[9][10]
1930	fracas	Jensen !Helen Jensen	The Des Moines Register and Tribune	Des Moines, Iowa	[11]
1931	foulard	Randall !Ward Randall	White Hall Register-Republican[12]	White Hall, Illinois	[13]
1932	knack	Greenwalk !Dorothy Greenwald	The Des Moines Register and Tribune	Des Moines, Iowa	[11]
1933	torsion	Roach !Alma Roach	Akron Beacon Journal	Akron, Ohio
1934	deteriorating	Wilson !Sarah Wilson	Portland Evening Express	Portland, Maine
1935	intelligible	Mohler !Clara Mohler	Akron Beacon Journal	Akron, Ohio
1936	interning	Trowbridge !Jean Trowbridge	The Des Moines Register and Tribune	Des Moines, Iowa
1937	promiscuous	Beckley !Waneeta Beckley	The Courier-Journal	Louisville, Kentucky
1938	sanitarium	Richardson !Marian Richardson	The Louisville Times	Louisville, Kentucky
1939	canonical	Rice !Elizabeth Ann Rice	Telegram & Gazette	Worcester, Massachusetts
1940	therapy	Kuykendall !Laurel Kuykendall	The Knoxville News-Sentinel	Knoxville, Tennessee	[11]
1941	initials	Sissman !Louis Edward Sissman	The Detroit News	Detroit, Michigan	[14]
1942	sacrilegious	Earnhart !Richard Earnhart	El Paso Herald-Post	El Paso, Texas
1946	semaphore	McKinney !John McKinney	The Des Moines Register and Tribune	Des Moines, Iowa	[15]
1947	chlorophyll	Pollard !Mattie Lou Pollard	Atlanta Journal	Atlanta, Georgia	[16]
1948	psychiatry	Chappelear !Jean Chappelear	Akron Beacon Journal	Akron, Ohio	[17]
1949	dulcimer	Calvin !Kim Calvin	Canton Repository	Canton, Ohio
1950	meticulosity	Reynard !Diana Reynard[B]	Cleveland Press	Cleveland, Ohio	[18]
		Dean !Colquitt Dean[B]	Atlanta Journal	Atlanta, Georgia
1951	insouciant	Belz !Irving Belz	Memphis Press Scimitar	Memphis, Tennessee
1952	vignette	Hall !Doris Ann Hall	Winston-Salem Journal	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	[19]
1953	soubrette	Hess !Elizabeth Hess/td>	Arizona Republic	Phoenix, Arizona
1954	transept	Cashore !William Cashore	Norristown Times Herald	Norristown, Pennsylvania
1955	crustaceology	Sloss !Sandra Sloss	St. Louis Globe-Democrat	St. Louis, Missouri	[20]
1956	condominium	Sachko !Melody Sachko	Pittsburgh Press	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	[21]
1957	schappe	Bennett !Dana Bennett[C]	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado	[22]
		Owen !Sandra Owen[C]	Canton Repository	Canton, Ohio
1958	syllepsis	Schlehuber !Jolitta Schlehuber	Topeka Daily Capital	Topeka, Kansas
1959	catamaran	Montgomery !Joel Montgomery	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado	[23]
1960	eudaemonic	Feldman !Henry Feldman	The Knoxville News-Sentinel	Knoxville, Tennessee	[24]
1961	smaragdine	Capehart !John Capehart	Tulsa Tribune	Tulsa, Oklahoma	[25][26]
1962	esquamulose	Crawford !Nettie Crawford[D]	El Paso Herald-Post	El Paso, Texas
		Day !Michael Day[D]	St. Louis Globe-Democrat	St. Louis, Missouri
1963	equipage	Slyke !Glen Van Slyke III	The Knoxville News-Sentinel	Knoxville, Tennessee	[24]
1964	sycophant	Kerek !William Kerek	Akron Beacon Journal	Akron, Ohio
1965	eczema	Kerpan !Michael Kerpan Jr.	Tulsa Tribune	Tulsa, Oklahoma	[26]
1966	ratoon	Wake !Robert A. Wake	Houston Chronicle	Houston, Texas
1967	chihuahua	Reinke !Jennifer Reinke	The Omaha World-Herald	Omaha, Nebraska
1968	abalone	Walters !Robert L. Walters	The Topeka Daily Capital	Topeka, Kansas	[27]
1969	interlocutory	Yoachum !Susan Yoachum	Dallas Morning News	Dallas, Texas
1970	croissant	Childress !Libby Childress	Winston-Salem Journal & Sentinel	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	[28]
1971	shalloon	Knisely !Jonathan Knisely	Philadelphia Bulletin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	[29]
1972	macerate	Kral !Robin Kral	Lubbock Avalanche-Journal	Lubbock, Texas	[30]
1973	vouchsafe	Trinkle !Barrie Trinkle[E][F]	Fort Worth Press	Fort Worth, Texas	[31]
1974	hydrophyte	Junkin !Julie Ann Junkin	Birmingham Post-Herald	Birmingham, Alabama
1975	incisor	Tosteson !Hugh Tosteson García	San Juan Star	San Juan, PR	[32]
1976	narcolepsy	Kneale !Tim Kneale	Syracuse Herald-Journal	Syracuse, New York	[33]
1977	cambist	Paola !John Paola	The Pittsburgh Press	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1978	deification	McCarthy !Peg McCarthy	The Topeka Capital-Journal	Topeka, Kansas	[34]
1979	maculature	Kerwin !Katie Kerwin	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado	[35]
1980	elucubrate	Bailly !Jacques Bailly[E]	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado	[36]
1981	sarcophagus	Pipkin !Paige Pipkin[E][F][G]	El Paso Herald-Post	El Paso, Texas	[37]
1982	psoriasis	Dieveney !Molly Dieveney	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado
1983	Purim	Giddens !Blake Giddens[E][G]	El Paso Herald-Post	El Paso, Texas	[38]
1984	luge	Greenblatt !Daniel Greenblatt	Loudoun Times-Mirror	Leesburg, Virginia	[39]
1985	milieu	Natarajan !Balu Natarajan	Chicago Tribune	Chicago, Illinois	[40]
1986	odontalgia	Pennington !Jon Pennington	The Patriot News	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	[41][42]
1987	staphylococci	Petit !Stephanie Petit[G]	The Pittsburgh Press	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	[43]
1988	elegiacal	Ramachandran ! Rageshree Ramachandran	The Sacramento Bee	Sacramento, California	[44]
1989	spoliator	Isaacs !Scott Isaacs[G]	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado	[45]
1990	fibranne	Dimak !Amy Marie Dimak	The Seattle Times	Seattle, Washington	[46]
1991	antipyretic	Lagatta !Joanne Lagatta	Wisconsin State Journal	Clintonville, Wisconsin	[47][48]
1992	lyceum	Goad !Amanda Goad	The Richmond News Leader	Richmond, Virginia	[49]
1993	kamikaze	Hooper !Geoff Hooper[G]	The Commercial Appeal	Memphis, Tennessee	[50]
1994	antediluvian	Andrews !Ned G. Andrews[G][H]	The Knoxville News-Sentinel	Knoxville, Tennessee	[24]
1995	xanthosis	Carroll !Justin Tyler Carroll	The Commercial Appeal	Memphis, Tennessee	[51]
1996	vivisepulture	Guey !Wendy Guey[G]	The Palm Beach Post	West Palm Beach, Florida	[52]
1997	euonym	Sealfon !Rebecca Sealfon	New York Daily News	New York City, New York	[53]
1998	chiaroscurist	Maxwell !Jody-Anne Maxwell	Phillips & Phillips Stationery Suppliers	Kingston, Jamaica	[54][55]
1999	logorrhea	Lala !Nupur Lala[G]	The Tampa Tribune	Tampa, Florida	[56][57]
2000	demarche	Thampy !George Thampy[E][G]	St. Louis Post-Dispatch	St. Louis, Missouri	[58]
2001	succedaneum	Conley !Sean Conley	Aitkin Independent Age	Aitkin, Minnesota	[59]
2002	prospicience	Buddiga !Pratyush Buddiga	Rocky Mountain News	Denver, Colorado	[60]
2003	pococurante	Gunturi !Sai Gunturi	Dallas Morning News	Dallas, Texas	[61]
2004	autochthonous	Tidmarsh !David Tidmarsh	South Bend Tribune	South Bend, Indiana	[62]
2005	appoggiatura	Kashyap !Anurag Kashyap	San Diego Union-Tribune	San Diego, California	[63]
2006	Ursprache	Close !Kerry Close	Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune	Spring Lake, New Jersey	[64]
2007	serrefine	O'Dorney !Evan O'Dorney	Contra Costa Times	Walnut Creek, California	[65]
2008	guerdon	Mishra !Sameer Mishra	Journal & Courier	West Lafayette, Indiana	[66]
2009	Laodicean	Shivashankar !Kavya Shivashankar	The Olathe News	Olathe, Kansas	[67]
2010	stromuhr	Veeramani !Anamika Veeramani	The Plain Dealer	Cleveland, Ohio	[68]
2011	cymotrichous	Roy !Sukanya Roy	Times Leader	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	[69]
2012	guetapens	Nandipati !Snigdha Nandipati	U-T San Diego	San Diego, California	[70]
2013	knaidel	Arvind Mahankali !Arvind Mahankali	New York Daily News	New York, New York	[71]
2014	stichomythia	Sujoe !Ansun Sujoe[I]	Texas Christian University	Fort Worth, Texas	[72]
	feuilleton	Hathwar !Sriram J. Hathwar[I]	Corning Rotary Club	Corning, New York

[SeekAndFind]

Notice the names of the winners starting in 2002 ( even as early as 1999 )....

[jsanders2001]

> Beyond my years too!

You get that from being pushed and forged. Not the white glove treatment that the lefties teach that creates the monster spoiled brats that live among us who elected the worst U.S. president in history.

[PapaNew]

2006-2007 looks like a couple of European Caucasians sneaked in.

[dfwgator]

So they ran out of words?

[dfwgator]

Couldn’t they at least have gone to penalty kicks?

[dfwgator]

I could see in the Idiocracy future the winning word being something like “apple.”

[chajin]

Notice the names of the winners starting in 2002 ( even as early as 1999 )....

As American as gulab jamun.

And I say that with the deepest of respect and admiration, along with the joy of knowing that the future of America is in the hands of those who have chosen to become Americans and are grateful, just as all my ancestors once chose to become Americans and were grateful.

[Starstruck]

Notice the names of the winners starting in 2002 ( even as early as 1999 )....

Also notice the words from about '95 on as compared to prior years.

[chajin]

feuilleton

"Feuilleton" is one of the concepts found in the introduction to Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game. I tie it in to my Music Appreciation college course, because in the same novel Hesse makes the assertion that the deep thoughts of humanity can only be expressed musically through classical music. It takes a week of back-and-forth to get the idea across that most popular music, and the news about popular musicians, is a feuilleton--and every time I write about it, I have to check the spelling :-) so I raise my Tampa Bay Rays cap to both of the winners.

[editor-surveyor]

Did they go through “Antidisestablishmentarianistically?”

.

[PghBaldy]

They could have spelled “Mister Mxyzptlk” backwards.