The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake Catholic wins annual hot dog eating contest
Robinson and Nocero scarfed down several to win The NewsHerald/Varsity Chalk Talk hot dog eating contest on July 25.
Winning breeds winning. At least that’s how the Lake Catholic football team looks at it.
In truth, the 13 jumbo-sized hot dogs Brian Robinson and Ryan Nocero scarfed down to win the News-Herald/Varsity Chalk Talk hot dog eating contest on July 25 at Hooley House won’t put any points on the scoreboard this fall.
Fighting through the nausea
of swallowing soggy buns isn’t going to be worth any yards in fourth-and-short situations this season, either.
But winning is contagious, the Robinson-Nocero tandem say.
Robinson and Nocero bested an 11-team field in front of a capacity crowd at Hooley House. The event, part of the Varsity Chalk Talk show, is an unofficial kickoff of sorts to the upcoming football season.
The first day of practice is Aug. 1 for teams across Ohio.
“Team pride,” Robinson said. “Lake Catholic always has the best fan base. We won the wing-eating contest a couple of months ago, That’s translated to tonight, and it’s going to translate into our season.”
The wing-eating champions in late may was won by recent Lake Catholic grads Christian Topazio-Ackley and Nick Carina.
Topazio-Ackley and Carina weren’t in attendance for the hot dog contest, but apparently everyone else in Lake Catholic green and gray were. When the final countdown expired and it was made known Lake Catholic had emerged as winners, the Cougar faithful cheered loudly and high-fived each other.
“We have people behind us all the time,” Nocero said.
The Lake Catholic duo had plenty of competition. Kirtland (Hunter Samf and Sam Speece) finished second with 12 hot dogs and buns eaten. VASJ (Nick Follett, Malik Callaway), Riverside (David Howell, Ricky Woessner) and Madison (Clay Smith, Mark Primer) tied for third with 11.
The rest of the field included Mentor (Tyler Churney, Ryan Jacoby) with 10, Brush (James Kalan, Coleyene Brown) with 9, North (Joe Rayle, Nick Dielman) with 8, South (Tim Sherman, Collin Urbania) with 6, Mayfield (Kyle Ross, Bobby Casey) with 6 and Gilmour (Drew Casa/Tim McCormack) with 5.
Each two-person team had three minutes to eat 16 jumbo dogs and bun. The only tandem in three years to finish all 16 was last year’s winners from Madison — Vince Primer and Brad Wienhold — who were in attendance this year to cheer on their former Madison teammates.
Robinson said he “hit a wall” after his fourth hot dog but pushed through. Both winners said they had to shrug off the person next to them who regurgitated slightly.
“I grew up with two older brothers,” Robinson. “Every night at dinner, this is how it is. Eat fast so you can get seconds.”
Said Nocero, “I’m used to eating fast at the fire station (where his father works). They have to eat fast because of calls.”
Although he and his teammate finished second, Kirtland’s Hunter Samf said they had a good system going. It just wasn’t quite enough to win.
“I broke a hot dog in half and chowed on that while dunking the bun in water,” Samf said. “I got an ice cube in one of the buns. That wasn’t very pleasant.”