The Latest: Sixth-grader wins National Spelling Bee
By Associated Press
Jun 1, 2017 10:41 PM CDT
Shruthika Padhy, 11, from Cherry Hill, N.J., reacts after misselling "quintain "during the finals of the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, June 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)   (Associated Press)

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The Latest on the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee (all times local):

11:30 p.m.

Twelve-year-old Ananya Vinay has won the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The sixth-grader from Fresno, California, won by spelling "marocain," a French word for dress fabric made of ribbed crepe. She gets more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.

Runner-up Rohan Rajeev missed the word "marram," a Scandinavian-derived word for beach grass.

Ananya's victory was the first time since 2013 that the bee has declared a single champion. It ended in a tie for three consecutive years.

The bee added a written tiebreaker test this year, but it didn't come into play.

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10:20 p.m.

Four spellers remain in the Scripps National Spelling Bee nearly two hours after the primetime finals began.

Veteran speller Tejas Muthusamy of Glen Allen, Virginia, made his third top-10 finish but missed his word with five spellers left.

At stake is a trophy and more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. After three consecutive years of ties, the bee is trying to identify a sole champion this year by adding a tiebreaker test.

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3 p.m.

Fifteen spellers have advanced to the primetime finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where they'll test their knowledge of Webster's Unabridged dictionary.

Scripps usually takes about 10 spellers to the final rounds, but the competition was paused with 15 kids left after more than four grueling hours on stage Thursday.

At stake is a trophy and more than $40,000 in cash and prizes. After three consecutive years of ties, the bee is trying to identify a sole champion this year by adding a tiebreaker test.

Among the finalists is Tejas Muthusamy of Glen Allen, Virginia, who had two previous top-10 finishes. Three other former top-10 spellers were eliminated.

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