"It's hard to find the words," a happy Sukanya Roy said late Thursday.
She certainly found all the right letters.
Sukanaya, 14, of South Abington Township, Pa., won the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "cymotrichous." It means to have curly hair.
As she had all evening, Sukanaya traced the letters in her left palm with a finger, then covered her mouth with a hand as she realized she is this year's spelling champ.
"My heart started pounding, I guess. I couldn't believe it," she told hundreds of fellow spellers, their families and media after hoisting the trophy at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in suburban Washington, D.C.
Sukanya outlasted Laura Newcombe, 12, of Toronto, who missed "sorites" in what had become a 25-word spell-off because the bee had gone past its anticipated 10 p.m. conclusion.
Sukanya, an eighth-grader, also spelled "periscii" after Laura's miss because they were in the same round at the time.
Arvind Mahankali, 11, of Forest Hills, N.Y., dropped out a couple of words earlier when he misspelled "Jugendstil."
"Oh, a silent letter," he nodded as the crowd cheered his performance for the night.
Sukanya will receive $30,000 in cash from E.W. Scripps Co., as well as more than $10,000 worth of prizes from bee sponsors.
Five spellers were perfect through 14 rounds — and were the last five standing for four rounds — until Dakota Jones, 14, of Las Vegas, misspelled "zanga" in Round 15. By then, ESPN had long since abandoned commercial breaks, as the expected 10 p.m. finish of the bee appeared to be wishful thinking on the part of the sports television network.
Joanna Ye, 14, of Carlisle, Pa., finished fourth.
In all, 274 regional bee winners competed in the national bee.
Samuel Estep, 13, of Berryville, Va., was the first of 13 finalists to fall out, mispelling "bondieuserie" about 45 minutes into the championship. He was the last speller in the first round of words.
Sixteen minutes and four spellers later, Lily Jordan, 14, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, missed "phanerogam." A couple of spellers later, Nabeel Rahman, 13, of Buffalo, N.Y., botched "dockmackie."
Ninety minutes after the bee began, nine spellers remained. Then, two went out on consecutive words — "rougeot" and "ephelides." A few minutes later, "polatouche" reduced the number of competitors to six.
The field was whittled from 41 semifinalists to 13 finalists during oral spelling earlier Thursday.
Madalyn Richmond, 13, the winner of The Journal Gazette Regional Spelling Bee, was eliminated Wednesday after three preliminary rounds, including a 25-word written-word test Tuesday.
She is a seventh-grader at Montpelier Exempted Village School in Williams County, Ohio.
She certainly found all the right letters.
Sukanaya, 14, of South Abington Township, Pa., won the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "cymotrichous." It means to have curly hair.
As she had all evening, Sukanaya traced the letters in her left palm with a finger, then covered her mouth with a hand as she realized she is this year's spelling champ.
"My heart started pounding, I guess. I couldn't believe it," she told hundreds of fellow spellers, their families and media after hoisting the trophy at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in suburban Washington, D.C.
Sukanya outlasted Laura Newcombe, 12, of Toronto, who missed "sorites" in what had become a 25-word spell-off because the bee had gone past its anticipated 10 p.m. conclusion.
Sukanya, an eighth-grader, also spelled "periscii" after Laura's miss because they were in the same round at the time.
Arvind Mahankali, 11, of Forest Hills, N.Y., dropped out a couple of words earlier when he misspelled "Jugendstil."
"Oh, a silent letter," he nodded as the crowd cheered his performance for the night.
Sukanya will receive $30,000 in cash from E.W. Scripps Co., as well as more than $10,000 worth of prizes from bee sponsors.
Joanna Ye, 14, of Carlisle, Pa., finished fourth.
In all, 274 regional bee winners competed in the national bee.
Samuel Estep, 13, of Berryville, Va., was the first of 13 finalists to fall out, mispelling "bondieuserie" about 45 minutes into the championship. He was the last speller in the first round of words.
Sixteen minutes and four spellers later, Lily Jordan, 14, of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, missed "phanerogam." A couple of spellers later, Nabeel Rahman, 13, of Buffalo, N.Y., botched "dockmackie."
Ninety minutes after the bee began, nine spellers remained. Then, two went out on consecutive words — "rougeot" and "ephelides." A few minutes later, "polatouche" reduced the number of competitors to six.
The field was whittled from 41 semifinalists to 13 finalists during oral spelling earlier Thursday.
Madalyn Richmond, 13, the winner of The Journal Gazette Regional Spelling Bee, was eliminated Wednesday after three preliminary rounds, including a 25-word written-word test Tuesday.
She is a seventh-grader at Montpelier Exempted Village School in Williams County, Ohio.
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