Beaks rule; wings fly
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on September 16, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Lauren Harrell, left, Jon Yarrow and Louis Thomas compete in the final round of the Beak Week Wing Eating Contest Tuesday night. Yarrow, center, was the overall winner of the contest, eating 18 wings in three minutes.
Louis Thomas said he had already eaten before the start of Tuesday's Beak Week Wing Eating Contest.
But that didn't keep him from gobbling down nearly enough wings to earn the championship.
And you would have never known it by his start, as he tore through six chicken wings in 44 seconds.
The event was held in the John Street parking lot downtown. To qualify for the final round, 10 contestants competed in two separate heats to see who could eat six chicken wings -- provided by Railhouse 1842 -- in the shortest amount of time.
In the championship round, qualifiers competed to see who could eat the most wings in three minutes.
The judges -- Tim Lippold, Martha Bryan, Viola Ryals-Figueroa, Ann Wright and Wayne Turner -- were on stand-by with trays of extra wings should more be needed.
Thomas was competing against fellow finalists Lauren Harrell, Randy Swackhammer, Jon Yarrow and Gerald Cobb.
As the championship round began, the contestants situated themselves in front of plates piled high with wings.
Erin Fonseca, promotions coordinator for the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp., told contestants before they started that there were only two rules.
"Finish as many wings as you can in three minutes, and don't puke," Mrs. Fonseca said.
When Mrs. Fonseca gave the word, the contestants began.
Ms. Harrell took an early lead, eating four wings in the first 30 seconds.
But her lead slipped away as the wings began to take their toll, causing her to slow down while other competitors speeded up.
Swackhammer, Thomas and Yarrow began to edge out Cobb and Ms. Harrell as they raced for the lead, neck and neck.
As the seconds ticked by, Thomas and Yarrow ate at a blistering pace, leaving Swackhammer in the dust as they raced for the title of the night in the final minute.
As time ran out, the contestants leaned back as the barbecue sauce settled around the scraps of bones piled on the plates in front of them.
It looked like it was going to be a close race, and it was.
Thomas had started fast but was edged out by Yarrow by the margin of one wing, 18-17, to take the title of Beak Week 2015's "Wing Commander."
Yarrow received $100 for winning, as well as several gift cards from various downtown merchants.
Beak Week, the city festival that celebrates the poultry industry, will continue through Saturday.
On Thursday, the annual doctors vs. lawyers softball game -- "Fowl Play" -- will be held from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club at 1401 Royall Ave.
Beak Week will wind up Friday and Saturday with a Heroes Cup cornhole championship in the John Street parking lot downtown. Competition on both days will run until 11 p.m.