This year, 16-year-old Blake Giesing walked away with the top local male hot dog eater award at the sixth annual J.Pfenny's Hotdog Eating Contest.
Giesing and his sister, Hannah, 13, entered the contest at the last minute not knowing what level of competition they would encounter. They competed against nine other contestants, three of whom were professional eaters.
"I was surprised to find out that I had won after only eating eight hot dogs," Giesing said.
This was his first time attending the Salute to America festival, and he walked away winning the top local prize.
After demolishing four hot dogs, Giesing's sister was the only female in the contest, and walked away with the award as the top female.
"I felt like I had to do it because their weren't any girls competing, so that was what motivated me to jump in," Hannah said.
All of the contestants had to eat as many hot dogs as they could in 10 minutes, then maintain their composure for at least five minutes before the judging was over.
J.Pfenny's provided 300 hot dogs for the contest along with a bag of kitty litter and a bucket for those who would be considered lightweights.
After five minutes, no one had to use the bucket.
It was even more impressive for the crowd to watch the 2017 top professional hot dog eater, Brandon Clark, devour 23 hot dogs in 10 minutes. Clark, also known as "Da Garbage Disposal," is from Cahokia, Illinois, and has a career record of 26 hot dogs. He began to compete six months ago. He was awarded a $300 cash prize as the top pro eater.
Clark said he made a stop in Jefferson City and will move on to accept a new challenge at the Lake of the Ozarks.
"You can't get more American than a hot dog eating contest in downtown Jefferson City," contest announcer Tim Thomas said.