For the second straight year National Spelling Bee crowns co-champions and of course, they are Indian-Americans -- Vanya Shivashankar from California and Gokul Venkatachalam of Missouri.

The word list was running out and the final correct spelling of nunatak (a hill or mountain completely surrounded by glacial ice) resulted in a tie.

By correctly spelling "scherenschnitte" -- a German term for cut-paper art -- Vanya, 13, became the first sibling of a former champion to take home the trophy. Her sister, Kavya Shivashankar, won in 2009 on the word Laodicean, meaning lukewarm.

Kavya is also the India Abroad Young achiever of 2009.