By Paige Botjer and Hannah Botjer—

This April, Gourmet Dining held a contest so hot it would knock your socks off! This contest was so hot that waivers needed to be signed in order for the contestants to even get their hands on the chicken wings. It was the Hot Wing Eating Contest sponsored by the Iota Phi Theta fraternity.

The difficult two round competition held eight contestants ready to sacrifice their lips and tongues: Don Santiago, Corey Brumfield, Amanda Torres, Felix Zamora, Eduardo Cabanilla, Patrick Reilly, Katherine Albanferre, Ciara Broadway, Eder Sanchez, Kaycey McClenny, Travio Magnus and Kamal Peters.

Before the contest there was a brief pie-eating contest. As fresh piping apple pie was tempting for the contestants. Participators Patrick Reilly, Don Santiago, and Corey Brumfield braced themselves for the pie-eating contest. No hands were allowed and the first person to finish the whole pie was to win.

“My strategy is too eat the top first then to eat the sides,” said Don Santiago.

As the participants dove head first into the pie, onlookers could only watch as they came up for air like dolphins covered in whip cream and apples. At the end Patrick Reilly stood victorious, and prepared himself for the hot wing contest.

At the beginning of the contest, the contestants were skeptical. Eduardo Cabanilla remarked, “It had better be spicy!”

Each of the contests believed that they had what it took to win this hot competition.

At the start, the contestants tore through the wings, and the first rule of the first round: Make sure the bone is completely clean! During the competition, the contestants couldn’t so much as touch the glass of milk or they were out for good.

By the end of the competition, Katherine Albanferre stated, “I’m dying! The wings were just that hot!”

It was difficult three-minute competition and sadly, Corey Brumfield, Tavio Magnus, and Patrick Reilly could not take the heat and didn’t make it to the second round.

The trick to this eating contest, Don Santiago informed me, was to eat a lot of something that you like. “You have to really know how to eat the food or else you can’t do it.”

The people who moved onto the second round included, Don Santiago, Eduardo Cabanilla, Kaycey McClenny, and Amanda Torres. As they dove into the second round of wings, the spice was beginning to take its toll on them.

“I feel it every time I breathe,” said Kaycey McClenny, “It’s out of control!”

They tore through the wings, red in the face and taking quick glances at the milk in front of them. As the end of the three minutes neared shouts of encouragement rang from the crowd.

And the winner is… Kaycey McClenny! As they held her arm up, she couldn’t be bothered with celebrations. She quickly grabbed the milk and drank it as fast as she could. The other contestants did the same. And so concludes NJCU’s Hunger Games.