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Texas teenager is the new champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

The nail-biting finish to the Scripps National Spelling Bee came down to the competition's first ever spell-off. After starting with more than 11 million spellers across the country, it came down to 229 who made it to D.C.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And then last night, there were just two, both veterans of the Bee - 12-year-old Vikram Raju from Aurora, Colo., and 14-year-old Harini Logan from San Antonio, Texas.

MARTÍNEZ: They were both given 90 seconds to spell as many words as they could. Vikram went up first and got 15 right. Then it was Harini's turn.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Your first word is spealbone.

HARINI LOGAN: S-P-E-A-L-B-O-N-E.

(SOUNDBITE OF DING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Phreatophyte.

LOGAN: P-H-R-E-A-T-O-P-H-Y-T-E.

(SOUNDBITE OF DING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Gaydiang.

LOGAN: G-A-Y-D-I-A-N-G.

MARTÍNEZ: Maybe I can pronounce them, Rachel. I can't spell them. No way.

MARTIN: Harini had said she was terrified of the lightning round, but in the end, well, she blazed on through it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Nandubay.

LOGAN: N-A-N-D-U-B-A-Y.

(SOUNDBITE OF DING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Moorhen.

LOGAN: M-O-O-R-H-E-N.

(SOUNDBITE OF DING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Time.

(APPLAUSE)

MARTÍNEZ: She spelled 21 words correctly, making Harini Logan the champion of the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

(SOUNDBITE OF BAD SNACKS' "PER LA LUNA (MIXED)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.