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 in Oxon Hill, Md., Friday, May 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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OXON HILL, Md. (AP) - The Latest on the National Spelling Bee (all times local):
12:07 p.m.
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 on 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.
They are: Rishik Gandhasri, Erin Howard, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao and Rohan Raja.
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11:35 p.m.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is running out of words.
With eight spellers remaining after three hours of spelling in the prime-time finals, pronouncer Jacques Bailly told the remaining spellers that Scripps only had enough words left to challenge them for three more rounds.
Anyone who gets through the remaining three rounds will be declared a co-champion. The bee has never had more than a two-way tie for the title in its history.
Bee executive director Paige Kimble said bee organizers discussed this contingency plan for ending the competition earlier Thursday after it took 5ˆ½ hours to narrow the field from 50 spellers to 16.
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3:45 p.m.
Sixteen spellers have advanced to the prime-time finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee after a marathon session that lasted nearly 5ˆ½ hours.
Two spellers made the prime-time finals for the third time: 14-year-old Erin Howard of Huntsville, Alabama and 13-year-old Shruthika Padhy of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
The winner will receive more than $50,000 in cash and prizes and a new, custom-designed trophy.
Other returning finalists are 12-year-old Abhijay Kodali of Flower Mound, Texas, who finished third last year; 13-year-old Navneeth Murali of Edison, New Jersey; 13-year-old Aisha Randhawa of Corona, California; 13-year-old Rohan Raja of Irving, Texas; and 13-year-old Simone Kaplan of Davie, Florida.
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11:50 a.m.
Ten spellers have been eliminated after the opening round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee finals.
There were few major surprises in the round, which included mostly words that spellers were able to piece together through their Greek and Latin roots.
Several spellers who've made deep runs in past years remain, including Shruthika Padhy of Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Abhijay Kodali of Flower Mound, Texas; Sohun Sukhatankar of Dallas; and Erin Howard of Huntsville, Alabama.
Roughly a dozen spellers will advance to the prime-time finals. The winner receives more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.
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10 a.m.
The finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee have begun, with 50 kids on stage competing for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes and a new, custom-designed trophy.
This year's bee had the biggest field ever, with 562 spellers, more than half of whom got in through Scripps' wild-card program. Last year was the first time that wild cards were allowed into the bee, and the eventual champion was a wild card.
Thursday's finalists include nine spellers who finished in at least a tie for 10th last year. The field will be narrowed to about a dozen spellers in the morning and early afternoon before the prime-time finals on ESPN.
The last 14 champions and 19 of the past 23 have been Indian-American.
The eight co-champions celebrate after winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Friday, May 31, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. The spelling bee ended in unprecedented 8-way championship tie after organizers ran out of challenging words. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Associated Press
The eight co-champions of the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee, from left, Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, of Dallas, Texas, Abhijay Kodali, 12, of Flower Mound, Texas, Rohan Raja, 13, of Irving, Texas, Saketh Sundar, 13, of Clarksville, Md., Christopher Serrao, 13, of Whitehouse Station, N.J., Rishik Gandhasri, 13, of San Jose, Calif., Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Ala., and Shruthika Padhy, 13, of Cherry Hill, N.J., celebrate their win in Oxon Hill, Md., Friday, May 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Colette Giezentanner, 12, of St. Louis, laughs as she competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Sahil Langote, 13, of New Castle, Del., tries to figure out how to spell his word as he competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2019. Langote incorrectly spelled his word and was eliminated from the competition. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Sebastian Castilla, 13, of Cincinnati, competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Pavani Chittemsetty, 13, of Bentonville, Ark., spells out a word on her palm as she competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Nathan Ostermann, 14, of El Centro, Calif., competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Hephzibah Sujoe, 13, of Fort Worth, Texas, reacts after spelling her word correctly as she competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Anisha Rao, 13, of Dublin, Calif., counts the number of ways to pronounce her word as she competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2019. Rao correctly spelled her word, oeillade. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Erin Howard, 14, of Huntsville, Ala., reacts after spelling her word correctly as she competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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Melodie Loya, 14, of Bainbridge, N.Y., is comforted by friends after spelling a word incorrectly in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Calvin Franke, 14, of Palatine, Ill., spells out a word in his palm as he competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Saketh Sundar, 13, of Clarksville, Md., competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Former contestants react as Simone Kaplan, 13, of Davie, Fla., walks offstage after spelling a word incorrectly in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2019, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Alice Liu, right, 12, of Chesterfield, Mo., gets a hugs from Melodie Loya, 14, of Bainbridge, N.Y., after misspelling her word as she competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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