NYC boy, 16, is the fastest texter in America

NEW YORK — The reigning 16-year-old champion of cellphone texting has reclaimed the title of fastest texter in America. Austin Weirschke (WARE’-skee) of Queens, N.Y., won after eight rounds at the texting competition Wednesday in Times Square. He gets $50,000 in prize money. Eleven contestants from around the U.S. competed. The competition tested three skills: speed, accuracy and dexterity. There were three rounds, including texting while blind-folded and texting with hands behind their backs. The third round is called “text blitz.” Phrases were shown to the contestants for a length of time and they copied them as fast as they could. The annual competition is sponsored by cellphone-maker LG Electronics.