Mirle Shivashankar, left, hugs his daughter Kavya Shivashankar, 13, of Olathe, after she won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington on Thursday. At right is his wife, Sandy Shivashankar.

Washington ? Cool and collected, Kavya Shivashankar wrote out every word on her palm and always ended with a smile. The 13-year-old Kansas girl saved the biggest smile for last, when she rattled off the letters to “Laodicean” to become the nation’s spelling champion.

The budding neurosurgeon from Olathe, Kan., outlasted 11 finalists Thursday night to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, taking home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes and the huge champion’s trophy.

After spelling the winning word, which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics, Kavya got huge hugs from her father, mother and little sister. This was her fourth appearance at the bee, finishing 10th, eighth and fourth over the last three years. She enjoys playing the violin, bicycling, swimming and learning Indian classical dance. Her role model is Nupur Lala, the 1999 champion featured in the documentary “Spellbound.”

Second place went to 12-year-old Tim Ruiter of Centreville, Va., the only non-teenager in the finals. He misspelled “maecenas,” a cultural benefactor.

The 82nd annual bee attracted a record 293 participants, with the champion determined on network television in prime time for the fourth consecutive year.