2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ is Arvind Mahankali

German words are no longer the nemesis of 13 year old  Arvind Mahankali.    The 8th grader represented New York in this years Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Arvind  has never had a "knaidel," but he was able to spell the German-derived Yiddish word for a matzo ball Thursday night to earn the trophy and more than $30,000 in cash and prizes.

Arvind finished third the two previous years, eliminated both times on German words.

Arvind admires Albert Einstein and hopes to become a physicist. He's the first boy to win the bee since 2008, and the first champion from the Big Apple since Rebecca Sealfon in 1997.

The runner-up Thursday night was 13-year-old Pranav Sivakumar from Tower Lakes, Ill.