National Spelling Bee Ends Up In a Tie, Again

The Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in a tie on Thursday evening for the second year in a row. Vanya Shivashankar, 13 years old, of Olathe, Kan., will share the 2015 title with Gokul Venkatachalam, 14, of Chesterfield, Mo. Vanya's winning word was "scherenschnitte", while Gokul spelled "nunatak" correctly. Last year's contest ended in a tie as well, the first time since 1962 -- and the fourth time overall -- that co-champions were declared, said Scripps. Vanya's sister won in 2009, making it the first time the sibling of a past champion has won, according to the Associated Press. Both winners had competed before. Also read: The worst spellers in America live in this state