Eight spellers were better than the dictionary.

They were better than anything the Scripps National Spelling Bee could throw at them.

And they all ended up with a hand on the trophy.

In the most extraordinary ending in the 94-year history of the competition, the bee ended in an eight-way tie on Thursday night.

The eight co-champions spelled the final 47 words correctly, going through five consecutive perfect rounds.

Each will get the full winner’s prize of $50,000 in cash.

They are: Rishik Gandhasri, Erin Howard, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao and Rohan Raja.

Erin Howard is a 14-year-old Alabama native who has competed in the Scripps Spelling Bee in the past.

The words that Erin spelled during the evening session of the competition: tophet, tinaja, pallone, meerschaum, jindyworobak, zamacueca, godet, Komondor, tulisan, calembour, deixis.

Howard is an eighth grader at Gap Middle School in Huntsville.
(Associated Press, copyright 2018)

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