New York, Texas students co-champs of Scripps National Spelling bee

Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post, New York, gets a hug from his mother Roopa and brother Jairam as he and Ansun Sujoe (L) of Fort Worth, Texas jointly won the 87th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor, Maryland May 29, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

OXON HILL Md. (Reuters) - Sriram Hathwar of Painted Post, New York, and Ansun Sujoe of Fort Worth, Texas, were declared co-champions of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday. Sujoe, a 13-year-old seventh grader, and Hathwar, 14, an eighth grader, were declared co-champions by judges after six rounds of face-to-face dueling. The final word Sujoe spelled was "feuilleton" and the last for Hathwar was "stichomythia." (Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Paul Tait)