Chesterfield junior Joey Leverence worked as hard as he could to eat as many hot dogs as possible.

Leverence was one of 48 Central Michigan University students to scarf down as many hot dogs as he could for the title of “Top Dog” at Delta
Chi’s first Hot Dog Eating Contest.

“I don’t know exactly how many I ate, but it was at least seven,” Leverence said after his team of Delta Chi associate members took the
winning title.

The winning team earned the title of “Top Dog” by eating 36 hot dogs as a group in the allotted time.

The contest took place Friday afternoon in the basement of His House Church. Delta Chi teamed up with His House to raise money for the
Jimmy V. Cancer Research Foundation, honoring Jim Valvano, a former North Carolina State basketball coach who lost his battle with cancer.

His House President Joe Vercellino said some people might be taken aback with the pairing of His House and Delta Chi. He sees it as people
coming together for a good cause.

“This is a neat way for two RSOs to pair together and create relationships,” the Midland senior said.

Eight teams of six signed up for the event, bringing in $402 for the foundation. Two teams competed in each of the four rounds, given
seven minutes to eat as many hot dogs as they could. The team with the most hot dogs eaten collectively in seven minutes received a trophy,
bragging rights and a T-shirt.

Leverence, rushing for Delta Chi, was one of six that helped bring his team to victory. He said he kept all the hot dogs he ate down without
too much trouble.

“It was the texture of the hot dog going down that made me feel sick, not the amount of hot dogs I ate,” he said.

Jeff Wegner, director of philanthropy for Delta Chi, would like to see the contest grow and encourages more students and organizations to
get involved next year.

“We want to try and make it big enough for Central to recognize it as a major RSO event,” the Saginaw sophomore said.

Wegner was happy to work with His House for the event. His House donated the space and the hot dogs for the contest, allowing Delta Chi to
donate all the proceeds to the foundation, he said.

Next year, Wegner plans on having the contest earlier in the fall semester so they can have it outside with a tent in the warmer weather.

E-mail the author: Kara Scheerhorn