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The Elite Ate

Phil Soderborg

Mike McAvoy

David Ruskjer

Donavon Busta

Andrew "A-Bomb" Lane

San Wong

John Spivey

Ron Bolseth
Contest
Record Book
The following are inducted
to the hall of hot dog history
San Wong
First contestant to qualify
Ron Bolseth
First quadriplegic to qualify
Philip Soderberg
Consumed a record eight hot dogs in three minutes and ate
thirteen hot dogs in eight minutes
Allyson Hathaway
First female contestant
Jake Neveau
Youngest competitor at age 14
Keriba Neveau
First vegetarian contestant
Nick Stock
First out of state competitor
Tommye Wall
Oldest competitor at
age 75
Lana Nicolarsen
Consumed a female record of 4 1/2 hot dogs in three minutes
Tuukka Laitinen
First international competitor
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Philip Soderborg

Mike McAvoy

David Ruskjer

The Elite Ate |
Gallant Group of Gluttons Gorge for
Glory
Phil Soderborg Crowned Top-Dog In
Inaugural Eat-Off
Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs concluded its first-ever hot dog eating
contest Sunday, July 27, 2008. The final eat-off featured the top
eight eaters of the previous four preliminary qualifying events thus
receiving the title of “Elite Ate.” Given eight minutes to eat as
many hot dogs as possible, the group of gluttons gorged for glory on
a dog day of summer.
Featuring experienced and possibly internationally-ranked
competitive eaters, some with wacky nicknames like A-Bomb and
Busta-Nut, the event was a huge draw for a hot summer day in
cordoned-off corner on Colfax Avenue. In an ironic twist, it was
newcomer to competitive eating - Phil Soderborg of Englewood who
took top honors eating thirteen hot dogs in eight minutes narrowly
beating award-winning competitive eater Mike McAvoy of Westminster
by a bites worth. David Ruskjer of Littleton came in third with 10
hot dogs downed. Coincidently, these three all competed in the July
13th qualifier finishing in the same fashion. Ruskjer was chosen as
an alternate when Matt Kish of Denver called in sick earlier that
day earning the nickname of Lucky Rusky.
“I wasn’t worried about those guys” said McAvoy as he commented on
the other ranked eaters in the contest. “Phil’s a natural eater.” He
added. McAvoy would know having faced him just two weeks prior in
the final qualifier. Soderborg went on to set the three-minute
qualifier record of eight hot dogs during that contest to advance to
the finals.
Soderborg will go down in hot dog history as the first-ever champion
of the inaugural contest and holds two contest records. Soderborg
received the grand prize of a $300 gift card to Sam’s Club, a glass
trophy and other items. McAvoy received a second place glass trophy
and a $100 gift card to Café Star and Ruskjer received a $50 gift
certificate to Mezcal for his third-place honors.
The event was the brainchild of owners Steve and Linda Ballas. The
Ballas’ wanted to find a fun and exciting way to raise money for
charity and it was only fitting to host a hot dog eating contest and
host it in July in honor to National Hot Dog Month. The entire
endeavor rose over $3,300 for Project Angel Heart and Colorado Aids
Walk through a multi-week fundraising effort including car washes,
hot dog sales, a silent auction and eating contests on every Sunday
since Memorial Day.
Contest Results
1st place: Philip Soderberg with 13 hot
dogs
2nd place: Mike McAvoy with 12.9 hot dogs
3rd place: David Ruskjer with 10 hot dogs
4th place: Donavon Busta with 9 hot dogs
5th place: Andrew “A-Bomb” Lane with 8 hot dogs
6th place: San Wong with 7 hot dogs
7th place: John Spivey with 6 hot dogs
8th place: Rob Bolseth with 5 hot dogs |
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Check out YouTube video of Final Contest Introductions
Click Here
Check out YouTube video of Final Contest Part 1
Click Here
Check out YouTube video of Final Contest Part 2
Click Here |
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Mike McAvoy and
Philip Soderborg
advance to the finals

Soderborg sets qualifier record of eight in three

Lana Nicolarsen sets record
for female competitors at
four and a half in three

Tuukka "the Teemu Selanne of
Salami" Laitinen becomes first international competitor
The Contestants
Click on name for photo
Philip Soderborg
Mike McAvoy
David Rustjer
Bryan Botelho
Jim Campbell
Matt Hossner
John Spivey
Lana Nicolarsen
Tuukka Laitinen
Catherine Boyd
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Elite Eater from Englewood Eats
Eight Hot Dogs in Three Minutes – Sets New Record
Forty-three year old Philip Soderborg from Englewood was just one of
ten competitors who came to chow down for charity and a last chance
to qualify for Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs Inaugural Hot Dog Eating
Contest at the July 13th qualifier. Soderborg stunned the capacity
crowd easily eating eight hot dogs in the three minute time frame to
take the top spot and setting a new contest record previously held
at seven hot dogs by Donavon Busta of Centennial, Colo.
“I’ve never competed in an eating contest before,” says Soderborg as
he went on to elaborate on how learned to eat quickly growing up in
a large family. “You had to eat quickly or go hungry.” He added.
Second place was a much different story as Mike McAvoy of
Westminster and David Ruskjer of Littleton each tied with seven and
a half dogs as piece forcing a 30-second eat-off to break the tie.
McAvoy downed two dogs to Ruskjer’s one earning him the remaining
spot on the group of elite eight eaters who will chow down at the
finals to be hosted on July 27, 2008 at Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs in
Denver.
Two other contest records were set on the July 13th qualifier
including the first international competitor Tuukka Laitinen of
Jakobstad, Finland. Billed as the “Teemu Selanne of Salami,” the
33-year old Laitinen proudly wore a Finland Olympic hockey jersey
during the contest and while he kept the contest close, he
ultimately lost out to the top two qualifiers.
One of the biggest surprises was 23-year old Lana Nicolarsen of
Denver as she downed four and a half hot dogs in the three-minute
timeframe to set the new record for female contestants previously
set at two and three-quarters and held by 38-year old Keriba Neveau
of Denver. In fact, had Nicolarsen participated at a previous
qualifier, that amount would’ve been enough for her to qualify for
the finals but on a day when the eight dog record was set. Of the
dozens of competitors – both men and women, Nicolarsen is among the
top ten. Honorable mention goes out to 24-year-old Catherine Boyd
for taking the second spot among female competitors eating a total
of three and a half hot dogs during the qualifier.
The final chow down will take place at 1:00 p.m., on Sunday, July
27th at Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs located at 3525 E Colfax Ave in
Denver. The top two contestants from each of the four qualifiers
will form the group known as the “Elite Ate” who will have eight
minutes to eat as many hot dogs as they can. Grand prize includes a
$300 gift card to Sam’s Club, a trophy and crowned “Big Weiner” of
the contest. Second place includes a trophy and a $100 gift card to
Café Star and third place receives a $50 gift certificate to Mezcal.
The event is aimed to gain funding and awareness for Project Angel
Heart and the Colorado Aids Fund. The entire $25 entry fee and a
portion of all hot dog sales will go directly to the charities. The
final chow down is free and open to all spectators who want to
witness the action in person. Raffles and other prizes will be
available.
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Check out YouTube video of Contest
Introductions -
Click Here
Check out YouTube video of the July 13 Qualifier -
Click Here
Check out YouTube video of the 30-sec Eat-off -
Click Here |
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Nick Stock and A-Bomb Lane
advance to the finals

K. Neveau and son Jake become the first mother
and son team

Tommye Wall of Broomfield becomes oldest
competitor
The Contestants
Click on name for photo
Andrew "A-Bomb" Lane
Nick Stock
Ian Gilbert
Bruce Slanniello
Keriba Neveau
Jake Neveau
Andrew "Tommye Wall |
A-Bomb Easily Takes Top Spot - A
Three-way Tie for Second Place ends with Eat-off
Andrew "A-Bomb" Lane came in to today's qualifier as the clear
favorite - he did not disappoint eating more dogs in the
three-minute timeframe than any other at Steve's Snappin' Dogs third
of four qualifying hot dog eating contests hosted on June 29th.
In all, A-Bomb only needed to eat a total of four dogs to qualify.
Second place was a much different story. Nick
Stock of Quad Cities, Illinois along with Denverites Ian Gilbert and
Bruce Slanniello, all tied with three dogs a piece. "I never
thought I'd see it happen," says Steve Ballas, owner of Steve's
Snappin' Dogs. "But I guess it did!" He added. To
identify a clear winner for the second spot at the July 27th finals
table, a 30-second eat-off ensued with all three remaining
contestants. Although already qualified, A-Bomb Lane decided
to join in the competition as a gesture of his competitive nature.
The competition was close but the it was the out-of-state contestant
Nick Stock who took the second spot eating 7/8 of dog in the
30-second tie-breaker.
The event featured the first vegetarian as
Keriba Neveau of Denver ate the equivalent weight in vegi-dogs of a
regular "Snapper." Neveau's 14-year-old son Jake also competed
in the qualifier making Jake the youngest competitor in the contest
and the Neveau's the first mother and son team.
One of the biggest highlights of the qualifier
was the participation of 75-year old Tommye Wall of Broomfield.
While Wall was not in it to win it, she did participate and
requested to eat a Chicago-style hot dog instead of the plateful of
"Snappers" the other contestants received. In typical
competitive spirit, Wall ate her dog within the allotted timeframe
becoming the oldest competitor and supporter of the benefiting
charities - Project Angel Heart and Colorado Aids Walk.
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Check out YouTube video of Contest
Introductions -
Click Here
Check out YouTube video of the June 29 Qualifier -
Click Here
Check out YouTube video of the 30-sec Eat-off -
Click Here |
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Donavan Busta and Matt Kish advance to the finals

Allyson Hathaway became
the contest's first female contestant

Click here to view some awesome photos
The Contestants
Click on name for photo
Donavon Busta
Matt Kish
Andrew "A-Bomb" Lane
Jason Medrano
Jeff Dankenbring
Kevin Mumford
Scott Arnold
Allyson Hathaway |
Donavon Downs Double the Dogs on
Dad’s Day -
Sets Contest Record at Seven
Many of us who have heard of competitive eating contests
automatically think of the name of Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi – the
guy credited with eating 58-odd hot dogs in 12 minutes. Even few of
us know that he was beaten last year by Joey Chestnut, who won by
eating a world record-breaking 66 hot dogs and buns in the same time
frame. But how many could these two guys, or anyone for that matter,
be able to eat in three minutes? And what if the contest was a “dry”
or “picnic-style” contest that allowed no dunking? Well, up to
Sunday, June 15, the bar stood at four – well at least in the Chow
Down for Charity event hosted by Denver’s own Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs.
Forty-one-year-old San Wong of Denver set the four-dog contest
record on June 1st during the first of the four qualifying events.
On June 15th, thirty-five-year-old Donavon Busta of Centennial
nearly doubled that number by consuming seven complete hot dogs –
bun and all, in front of a capacity crowd at the second qualifier.
Busta was one of eight competitors on the Father’s Day feast-off
vying for a chance to qualify for the July 27th finals.
“I’ve done some wings contests,” says Busta, who went on to
elaborate on his successes eating competitively during Colorado
Mammoth halftime shows and other events. “I haven’t done dogs
before.” He added. Busta along with Matt Kish of Denver will join a
group of eight elite contestants that will advance to the final Chow
Down for Charity on July 27th. Kish took the second spot downing
five and half dogs narrowly beating out Andrew “A-Bomb” Lane by a
bite’s-worth.
Lane, along with several other competitors will re-try their luck at
one of the two remaining qualifiers to be contested on June 29th and
July 13th. The contest is geared toward gaining awareness and funds
for the Colorado Aids Fund and Project Angel Heart. The entire $25
entry fee and a portion of all hot dog sales on Sunday’s will
directly benefit these charities.
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San Wong and Ron Bolseth qualify
for the finals
The Contestants
Click on name for photo
San Wong
Ron Bolseth
Brady Weingardt
Sonny de Guzman
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The First Chow Down For Charity
Qualifier Attracts All Ages
Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs kicked off the first qualifying event for its
inaugural hot dog eating contest last Sunday, June 1 at 2:30 pm. The
contest featured the youngest and the oldest registered participants
as sixty-one-year-old Sonny de Guzman of Thornton went up against
twenty-one-year-old Brady Weingardt along with forty-one-year-old
San Wong and thirty-three-year-old Ron Bolseth, all of whom are from
Denver.
Contestants were given a total of three minutes to devour as many
hot dogs as they could. Wong was the clear winner with a total of
four hot dogs eaten within the time span. Bolseth narrowly beat out
Weingardt by a fraction of a hot dog. Both Wong and Bolseth will
advance to the finals to be contested on July 27, 2008. Subsequent
qualifiers will take place on June 15, June 29 and July 13 and we
are still accepting new entrants.
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