The Northwest High School girls have become a true powerhouse on the local watermelon-eating scene, and the Heartland Lutheran boys might also be on their way to a dynasty. Northwest took the girls division of the Hall County Fair watermelon-eating contest Saturday for at least the third year in a row, and the Heartland boys nabbed their second title in a row. Chad Rostvet, right, stuffs a piece of watermelon into his mouth Saturday at Five Points Bank Arena.
His Heartland Lutheran teammates are, from left, Luke Olson, Vance Smith and Darrin Bexten. Both teams had to rise up to beat strong competition. The Grand Island Senior High boys were in good position to win, with a time of one minute and 30 seconds.
But the Heartland Lutheran boys, obviously motivated, posted a time of 1:13 to again enjoy the sweet taste of victory. Competing for Grand Island Senior High on Saturday were, from left, Owen Williams, Erik Guerrero, Mario Borrego and Roger Guerrero. In the girls division, Wood River recorded a time of 1:50.
But Northwest seized the top spot with a showing of 1:06. The Northwest girls agreed that Natalia Schultz was their MVP. In her third year in the contest, Schultz said experience helps.
She's learned "just to eat it fast, and not really think about it." Even though they'd just put away a lot of watermelon, the Northwest girls weren't quite full. A couple of them were in the mood for French fries.
Two of the Heartland Lutheran boys were also on last year's winning team �.