A spicy hot day at the fair
Several fairgoers try their luck at wing eating contest
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Caleb Lundgren, 11, of Burnside, reacts to the super spicy hot buffalo wings he was eating Saturday afternoon at the Webster County Fair. Lundgren placed second in his age division.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Violet Newell, 11, of Moorland, holds a bag of ice on her lips Saturday afternoon after competing in the buffalo wings challenge at the Webster County Fair. She ate half of one wing before deciding to throw in the towel.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Jerod Dencklau, of Moorland, chills out after finishing his spicy super hot buffalo wings Saturday in the buffalo wing challenge at the Webster County Fair. The heat hit him a few minutes after his third-place finish.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Alyssa Dencklau, 12, of Moorland, a member of the Manson Craters 4-H Club, relaxes next to "Myrtle" Saturday at the Webster County Fair. She skipped the buffalo wing competion but planned on entering the cookie eating contest.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Alexis Essing, of Manson, a member of the Johnson Jaguars 4-H Club, spends a few quiet moments in the horse barn Saturday afternoon at the Webster County Fair. This is her last year as a 4-H fair participant.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Kellan Foth, 4, of Humboldt, looks up from his slice of watermelon Saturday at the Webster County Fair's watermelon feed.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Colton Barrett, 10, of Moorland, enjoys his third slice of watermelon Saturday at the Webster County Fair.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Caleb Lundgren, 11, of Burnside, reacts to the super spicy hot buffalo wings he was eating Saturday afternoon at the Webster County Fair. Lundgren placed second in his age division.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Violet Newell, 11, of Moorland, holds a bag of ice on her lips Saturday afternoon after competing in the buffalo wings challenge at the Webster County Fair. She ate half of one wing before deciding to throw in the towel.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Jerod Dencklau, of Moorland, chills out after finishing his spicy super hot buffalo wings Saturday in the buffalo wing challenge at the Webster County Fair. The heat hit him a few minutes after his third-place finish.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Alyssa Dencklau, 12, of Moorland, a member of the Manson Craters 4-H Club, relaxes next to "Myrtle" Saturday at the Webster County Fair. She skipped the buffalo wing competion but planned on entering the cookie eating contest.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Alexis Essing, of Manson, a member of the Johnson Jaguars 4-H Club, spends a few quiet moments in the horse barn Saturday afternoon at the Webster County Fair. This is her last year as a 4-H fair participant.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Kellan Foth, 4, of Humboldt, looks up from his slice of watermelon Saturday at the Webster County Fair's watermelon feed.
-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen <BR> Colton Barrett, 10, of Moorland, enjoys his third slice of watermelon Saturday at the Webster County Fair.
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It's been a hot humid week at the Webster County Fair.
On Saturday, that heat got turned up to something closer to molten lava for the participants in the buffalo wing challenge wing eating contest.
Contestants had to eat five Buffalo Wild Wings "Blazin' Knockout" wings. The sauce is up to 2 million Scoville units -- that's the lower end of the heat range of the pepper spray used by law enforcement.
Caleb Lundgren, 11, of Burnside, placed second in the 14 and under category.
His secret?
"Just go and don't stop," Lundgren managed to say after he finished.
Jerod Dencklau, of Moorland, placed third in the 15 and up category. The wing challenge had a delayed reaction for him.
"I got through," Dencklau said. "It's hitting now; it wasn't this hot when we were eating it."
He might actually order the wings.
"I'd actually order them," he said. "Just not alone. I usually like something sweet with the hot."
He won a gift certificate for a treat at the Snack Shack in Fort Dodge. Milk products are supposed to help with the heat. But ironically, he's lactose intolerant.
"My daughter gets it," he said of his prize.
Violet Newell, 11, of Moorland, had tried her best too. She was walking around 20 minutes later with a bag of ice on her lips.
The damage was done with just a little bit of a little wing.
"I ate half of it," Newell said. "I took two bites."
Would she order wings at the restaurant?
She took a hard pass on that.
"No," she said.
Alexis Essing, of Manson, a member of the Johnson Jaguars 4-H Club, has completed all of her horse and rodeo competitions for the year.
She took a pass on the wings.
"I've had enough competition," Essing said.
On Saturday she was taking a break in the horse barn and reflecting a bit. At 18, she's aged out of 4-H after nine years.
"How am I going to get through summer," she said. "I'm going to miss it next year. What will I do? It's summer; we have the fair."
Alyssa Dencklau, 12, a member of the Manson Craters 4-H Club, was hanging out in the barn with "Myrtle" the cow and her dad, Jerod Dencklau, who had fully recovered from the wing eating competition.
She passed on the wing eating but was ready to go for the cookie-eating contest.
"Dad was up there eating and I wanted to, too," Alyssa Dencklau said.
She was planning on a win.
"I can eat a lot of them, especially my own," she said.
She said her favorite is chocolate chip. She doesn't like lemon cookies, which would be a problem for her if they were part of the contest.
"Then I'll be mad, and I will quit," she said.
Colton Barrett, 10, of Moorland, was ready to compete, too, in the pedal pull.
He's a seasoned vet.
"I've gotten medals every time I've done it," Barrett said.
His tactic is simple.
"Try really hard," he said.
Blazin' Knockout
Buffalo Wild Wings