SUPER HOT CHILI LEAVES CONTESTANT STEAMING

Ben Lowrance heated up early in the Noon Optimist Club's Hot Chili Eating Contest Wednesday, later shedding his shirt before the chili finished him.

Some smiles were seen around the table after round four of Wednesday night's Hot Chili Eating Contest. A few eyes began watering after round five. Deep breaths were taken after round six. College student Ben Lowrance's face was the color of a stop sign, but he went ahead. After round seven, many of the 13 entrants were shedding tears and fanning their mouths but, as emcee Bobbie Ann Mason of K-103 radio said, "Nobody's backing down."

When all 13 were still upright and breathing after eight rounds, head cook Dr. Bob Fox went back into the A.C. Brase Arena kitchen to spice things up some more.

That meant more cayenne pepper, more Scotch bonnet, a pepper from Jamaica, more Mexican habanero pepper and more of a sauce named for a sadist named Pete, whose sauce burns skin on contact.

The crowd attending the Noon Optimist Club Chili Day watched as each contestant ate the required dollop of chili within 15 seconds. The chili was progressively hotter in each round, and the entrants were not allowed to drink water or eat crackers in between.

Each of the contestants signed a waiver absolving the club of responsibility in case of medical repercussions.

Three entrants -- Larry Swader, John Clark and Lucky Johnson -- dropped out after round nine.

Four more exited after round 10 when the suffering Lowrance forfeited the contest and a mouthful of chili. Jason Krueger, Sarah Malik and Buck Brase were his co-victims.

When the final six -- Greg Smith, Bennie Edwards, William Large, Lisa Widner, Janice Ham and Naureen Latif -- all survived rounds 11 and 12, the organizers decided to break the tie. The contestants were asked what year the Noon Optimist Chili Day began. Latif, a homemaker, and Edwards, who works at LeeRowan, both missed the correct answer of 1986 by only two and were declared co-winners, splitting the $100 prize.

Everyone was handed a frozen fruit bar for refreshment.

Latif, a native of Pakistan, is accustomed to eating spicy food, but, she said afterward, "I felt like my ears were going to burn off."

Greg Smith, a competitor who claimed his South Dakota heritage made him immune to fiery food, still hadn't drunk any water five minutes after the contest ended.

"The worst thing you can do is drink something after eating spicy food," he said.

"It just makes it hotter."

A record 1,750 people were served at the annual Chili Day.