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Karthik Nemmani Spells "Koinonia" to Win Scripps National Spelling Bee
Karthik Nemmani spelled "koinonia" to win the 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md.
Nemmani, 14, is an eighth grader from McKinney, Texas. This was his final year of elegibility for the national contest.
Sixteen spellers entered the prime-time competition on Thursday night, including nine girls and seven boys. They ranged in age from 11-14. It was the largest group in contest history to advance to the championship finals.
Other words that the spellers had to tackle included "soubresaut," "praxitelean," "ispaghul," and "loratadine."
This year, 41 of the orginal 516 spellers made it to the first round of the the finals. The 516 competitors was the largest field that the contest has ever seen. The contest was divided into two parts, with the first airing Thursday morning and the second on Thursday night.
Last year, Ananya Vinay, 12, won the bee by spelling "marocain."
