As the final pre-competition meeting of the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s word selection panel stretches into its seventh hour, the pronouncers no longer seem to care. For decades, the word panel’s work has been a closely guarded secret. This year, Scripps a Cincinnati-based media company granted The Associated Press exclusive access to the panelists and their pre-bee meeting, with the stipulation that The AP would not reveal words unless they were cut from the list.
Harini Logan has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, defeating Vikram Raju in the bee s first-ever lightning-round tiebreaker. Both spellers got four words wrong during their grueling showdown before Scripps
14-year-old Harini Logan from San Antonio, Texas won the Scripps National Spelling Bee after being elimated, reinnstated, and then coming out on top in the bee's first-ever lightning-round spell off tiebreaker.