Las Cruces’ Stephanie Torres Eats 31 Hot Dogs

For Las Cruces resident Stephanie Torres, July 4th is a special day. The former NMSU student who ran Track and Field and Cross Country for the Aggies finished tied for second at the first ever Crif Dog Classic in Brooklyn, New York. The hot dog eating contest featured Takeru Kobayashi, the most famous competitive eater on the planet. Kobayashi ate 68.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes to destroy the field. Torres, the only female in the competition, ate 31 hot dogs to tie for second. The contest was streamed live on UStream and SI.com.

Video streaming by Ustream

A few miles away at Coney Island, Joey Chestnut ate 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his sixth straight mustard yellow belt as champ of the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating contest. The top female eater went to Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas, who polished off 45 hot dogs to win the women's competition. Torres burst on the scene last year when she finished second to Thomas with 29 hot dogs. However, Torres was kicked out of Major League Eating (MLE) after she competed in several non-sanctioned events. Kobayashi, also kicked out of MLE, heard about Torres and invited her to compete at his Crif Dog Classic.