For the Third Straight Year, Scripps National Spelling Bee Ends in a D-R-A-W

After 39 rounds, two boys became joint winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. It was the third time in the competition's history that it ended in a tie. 

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Jairam Hathwar, 13, and Nihar Janga, 11, beat out 282 other contestants to be crowned co-champions.

For an hour, the two finalists competed until the judges ran out of words and a draw was called.

Janga, the youngest winner in the bee's history, brought an element of showmanship to his appearance.

After winning, he crossed his arms in an "X" — an homage to his football hero, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant, who makes the same gesture when he scores.

Bryant took to Twitter to say:

After his victory, he told Inside Edition: “I'm just speechless."

Good spelling runs in the family for Jairam Hathwar. His brother, Sriram, was the 2014 co-champion.

Jairam told Inside Edition: "I can't believe this is real. When my brother won I was inspired by him. I wanted to follow in his footsteps and carry that trophy." 

Akash Vukoti was The Spelling Bee's youngest contestant. He could barely reach the mic.

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The first grader was eliminated in a preliminary round. Inside Edition caught up with him backstage where he said: "I am really excited to be here. I am going to keep doing the Spelling Bee until I am the champion." 

The winners will each receive a $40,000 cash prize.

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