Karthik Nemmani, 14, from McKinney, Texas, holds the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship Trophy with Scripps President and Chief Executive Officer Adam Symson after winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Associated Press
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) - Karthik Nemmani didn't win his regional spelling bee. He didn't even win his county spelling bee. But he was still good enough to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Throwing everything he had into his one shot at glory, 14-year-old Karthik outlasted better-known spellers and became the champion after a dramatically abrupt end to the competition, when 12-year-old Naysa Modi misspelled the word "Bewusstseinslage" in the first championship round.
Karthik had to spell two words correctly to seal the title, which he did with ease, and the lanky, soft-spoken Texan stepped back and smiled as he was showered with confetti. His winning word was "koinonia," which means Christian fellowship or communion.
Karthik is from McKinney, Texas, and Naysa lives in Frisco, Texas - both suburbs of Dallas - and Naysa topped Karthik at their county bee.
"She's a really, really good speller. She deserved the trophy as much as I did," Karthik said. "I got lucky."
He said there were eight or nine words during the prime-time finals he didn't know - a rare admission for a Scripps champion.
In the past, losing at the county level would have made Karthik ineligible for the national competition, but he got in through a wild-card program that was instituted this year.
The third-place finisher, 11-year-old Abhijay Kodali, came in second to Naysa at the Dallas regional bee, one of just a few regions that sends multiple spellers to nationals. Dallas has long been one of the most competitive regions in the country, and the lack of opportunity for spellers as talented as Karthik is what led Scripps to create the wild-card program in the first place.
Karthik is the 14th consecutive Indian-American champion, and 19 of the past 23 winners have had Indian heritage. In addition to the trophy, he gets more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.
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Karthik Nemmani, 14, from McKinney, Texas, wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
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Naysa Modi, 12, from Frisco, Texas, smiles after she spells her word correctly during the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
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Naysa Modi, 12, from Frisco, Texas, is interviewed by reporters during a break in the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Aisha Randhawa, 12, from Corona, Calif., celebrates spelling her word correctly during the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
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Shruthika Padhy, 12, from Cherry Hill, N.J. reacts to spelling a word correctly in the final roundsof the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Paul Hamrick, 14, from Monterey, Calif., pauses as he spells a word correctly during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Rohan Raja, 12, from Irving, Texas, reacts to spelling a word correctly during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Phoebe Smith, 12, from Aston, Pa., left, and Melodie Loya, 13, from Bainbridge, N.Y., celebrate after Phoebe spelled a word correctly during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Phoebe Smith, 12, from Aston, Pa., and Melodie Loya, 13, from Bainbridge, N.Y., reacts to the audience during a commercial break during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Medina Miranda, 13, from Long Beach, Calif., reacts to spelling a word incorrectly during the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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Sravanth Malla, 14, from Haverstraw, N.Y., spells his word incorrectly during the evening finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
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Naysa Modi, 12, from Frisco, Texas, types her word in the air while spelling correctly during the evening finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Naysa Modi, 12, from Frisco, Texas, fourth from left, covers her face as her video profile is aired during the evening finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 31, 2018. From left are the six remaining spellers, Jashun Paluru, 13, from West Lafayette, Ind., Navneeth Murali, 12, from Edison, N.J., Sravanth Malla, 14, from Haverstraw, N.Y., Naysa Modi, 12, from Frisco, Texas, Karthik Nemmani, 14, from McKinney, Texas, and Abhijay Kodali, 11, from Flower Mound, Texas. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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