Topic: scripps national spelling bee

Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalam after winning the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 28, 2015, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

The spelling bee and race

Sameer Pandya
(Screenshot)

Sarah Gray
Eighth grade home-schooled pupil Jacob Williamson, 15, of Cape Coral, Fla., reacts after correctly spelling his word "harlequinade", during the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 29, 2014, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Lindsay Abrams
Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., holds the championship trophy after he won the National Spelling Bee by spelling the word "knaidel" correctly on Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci)

Alan Hanson