Story highlights Arvind Mahankali had twice finished in third place 
 
 Winner correctly spells "tokonoma" then "knaidel" 
 
 Prize package includes $32,500 in cash and savings bonds 
 
 Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Bayside Hills, New York, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday, correctly spelling the word "knaidel." "It means that I am retiring on a good note," said Mahankali, who attends Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74 and was in his last year of eligibility. "I will spend the entire day studying physics," he said, drawing a laugh from the crowd. "I thought that the German curse had turned into a German blessing," he said, when asked what he thought when he heard the final word, a German-derived Yiddish word for a type of dumpling. Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee – Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old from Bayside Hills, New York, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, spelling "knaidel," a dumpling, on May 30. Hide Caption 3 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – The contest started with 281 contestants from eight nations, narrowed down to 11 spellers for the championship round. It was a stressful three days of computerized spelling and vocabulary quizzes and round after round of spelling on stage. Hide Caption 12 of 33 Photos: Photos: Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee – Lucas Michael Urbanski, from Illinois, waits to compete during the semifinals on Thursday, May 30. "Arvind, since you are the only speller left in this round, if you spell correctly this next word you will be declared the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion," head judge Mary Brooks says from the judges table. The annual contest offers the winner a healthy dose of classroom cred, $32,500 in cash and savings bonds, a trophy and a library of reference materials. Spellers shared something about their lives and what is interesting about themselves, aside from being a world-ranked speller.
– This year's National Spelling Bee winner is a 13-year-old eighth-grader from New York. Arvind Mahankali triumphed on the word "knaidel," meaning dumpling, thus conquering his trouble with German-derived words; they've knocked him out of the running in the previous two competitions. "The German curse has turned into a German blessing," he said. Mahankali became the first boy to win the contest since 2008, USA Today notes. The Scripps national contest began Tuesday in Oxon Hill, Maryland, with 281 competitors; the number was whittled down to 11 finalists in last night's bout. Along with his trophy, Mahankali gets $30,000 in cash, a US savings bond of $2,500 courtesy of Merriam-Webster, and a $2,000 collection of reference materials from Encyclopedia Britannica. So what's next for Mahankali? Not Disney World: "I shall spend the summer, maybe the entire day, studying physics," he said, per CNN.