With no Joey Chestnut to compete, Esper is 2022's top pepperoni roll eater

May 30—FAIRMONT — There's a new king in town.

Palatine Park was abuzz with the usual festivities of the West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Saturday night, but the evening peaked with the grandiosity that is Major League Eating and the annual pepperoni roll eating competition.

Sam Barclay, emcee for the MLE circuit roped in the crowd with his traditional carnival barker banter and over-the-top announcements.

"Just as the coliseum is home to some of history's greatest athleticism, so too is Fairmont the ancestorial homeland of pepperoni roll consumption," Barclays said, booming across the park.

The event's usual heated competition pits Joey Chestnut, the top-ranked eater in the world, against anybody else. Last year, Chestnut took home the belt by eating 33 rolls in 10 minutes, but that was a far cry from the world record set by Chestnut in 2019 of 43 rolls in just 10 minutes.

Chestnut was not able to attend this year's event, but the competition was still stiff with No. 2 Geoffrey Esper of Oxford, Massachusetts taking this year's title with 31.5 rolls downed in 10 minutes.

"I was a little slow tonight. I did a contest yesterday and I'm still tired from that," Esper said. "I wasn't real happy with my number, but it was good enough."

Joey Chestnut, who ate 33 Pepperoni Rolls in 10 minutes at last year's West Virginia Three Rivers Festival did not get to defend his crown this year. However, that left the door open for last year's second-place finisher, No. 2-ranked Esper, to step up and try and eat his way to victory.

Friday, Esper competed at the Jack's Donuts Donut Hole Eating Championship in New Castle, Indiana, where he ate 293 donut holes in just eight minutes. He chalks up his low results Saturday to the effort put out in Indiana.

Esper's major competition this year in Fairmont was the duo sixth-ranked Nick Wehry, and fifth-ranked Miki Sudo. Sudo and Wehry recently became engaged, and both tied for second place with 28 rolls Saturday night in what Barclay called, "a storybook ending."

Also on the stage Saturday was the only Fairmont native to sign up for the competition, Jonathan Woertz. For his first appearance in competitive eating, Woertz downed 8 rolls in 10 minutes and placed ninth overall out of 12 contestants.

For this being his first competition versus some seasoned veterans, Woertz was happy with his performance.

"It was awesome and all the guys next to me were awesome to give me some tips," Woertz said. "I watched some videos on YouTube to try to put a plan together, I started dunking the rolls at the end and today I didn't eat anything to try to make room for it all."

The common strategy for most eaters is to dunk the rolls into water or another drink so the food goes down easier. The practice is considered a must for bready foods like pepperoni rolls.

"It was hard. It was a lot harder than these other guys make it look," Woertz said. "I knew it wouldn't be easy, but wow... I was surprised I was able to eat that eighth roll."

Major League Eating is still on a bounce back from two years of COVID and virtual competitions. In 2021, the organization held some in-person events, but Barclay said the circuit is still coming back to its peak from 2019.

"We're definitely coming back from a rough couple of years. Any live event or sport had a tough time," Barclay said. "We were here last year, and we had a limited schedule and we're opening up this year with new plans and returning events. This is what we love to do and it's great to work with amazing folks like those here in Fairmont."

Reach David Kirk at 304-367-2522 or by email at dkirk@timeswv.com.