News from Lindsey Wilson University
Hot dog eating contest, Belly Flop Championships bring out creative competition among student body.
by Duane Bonifer
COLUMBIA, KY. (10/24/2025) Lindsey Wilson University has the most successful intercollegiate athletics program in Kentucky, but for two nights leading up to Homecoming Weekend 2025, the university’s students embraced two kinds of competition that won’t be found on the university’s athletics website or in Blue Raider record books.
On Wednesday, Oct. 22, several hundred Lindsey Wilson students gathered on the Campus Quadrangle to see which classmate could consume the most hot dogs and buns.
And on Thursday, Oct. 23, hundreds filled the Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center natatorium to see which student could make the biggest and most impressive splash in the annual Lindsey Wilson Belly Flop Championships.
One competition was a battle of caloric intake, the other rewarded tolerating a little pain in order to achieve a high level of aquatic expression and creativity. Both contests were won by a freshman.
Three rounds, 14 hot dogs
In the hot dog eating contest, which was sponsored by the Lindsey Wilson Student Government Association, 10 students attempted to devour as many American sausages and buns in 10 minutes. While none of the Lindsey Wilson competitors appeared poised to threaten Joey Chestnut’s four-year-old world record of eating 76 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, the Blue Raiders’ effort was just as impressive.
The first round resulted in a tie between Seth Ousley ’26 of Lancaster, Kentucky, and Aenaya Vines ’29 of Alabaster, Alabama, who each consumed 10 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. A dramatic overtime in which both competitors inhaled three hot dogs and buns in three minutes, set up a sudden-death round to see who could eat a single hot dog and bun the fastest.
Vines was the first to finish her 14th hot dog and bun, going down in Lindsey Wilson lore as the university’s first hot dog eating champion.
“I knew I was going to win, because I can eat a lot of food. I’m pretty good at eating,” said Vines, who is a member of the women’s wrestling team.
Vines said she didn’t prepare for the eating contest because “I just went there for my dinner.” But Vines said that careful execution during the contest was paramount.
“What helped me win was I just stayed consistent,” she said.
Winning with pain
A little more than 24 hours after Vines started her reign as Lindsey Wilson’s hot dog eating champion, she joined eight other students who competed in the Belly Flop Championships, a popular event that has been held every year since 2013, except for when it was paused in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vine was one of five students who qualified for this year’s final round. She wound up in third place overall, behind Hannah Reid ’28 of Trinidad and Tobago and champion Lorenz Hof ’29 of Stadtallendorf, Germany.
Whereas competitive food eating demands an almost singular focus of consuming a lot of food quickly, prevailing in belly flop competition is somewhat more subjective and even a bit theatrical.
The flopper must hit the water as flat as possible to maximize the splash created. The bigger the splash, the more impressed were the three judges that rated each flop on Thursday night. But certain intangibles also played into the scoring.
When evaluating a flopper, “you’re looking for flatness” in relation to the water, said Lindsey Wilson Athletic Director Willis Pooler ’93.
But judges also looked for the impact the flop has on skin.
“Radioactive skin will be rewarded,” said Pooler, who was joined on the judges panel by Dean of Students Chris Schmidt and Director of Campus Recreation Tori Starks.
“As Clubber Lang said in Rocky III, his prediction for his fight against Rocky was ‘pain,'” said Schmidt. “We also reward those who endure pain because they are committed to the flop.”
Starks said she looks for a flopper who can make a big splash, but “honestly, I look for Willis’ and Schmitty’s reactions.”
“If it’s a big reaction from them, it’s a big score,” she said.
Flying to victory
Hof’s first flop scored 23.5 points out of a possible 30, advancing him to the competition’s final round. When he returned to the swimming pool deck for the second round, Hof appeared locked in. He adjusted a light-blue mask he was wearing to match a short, light-blue silk cape. Then he removed his pink swim trunks — which almost matched his body’s skin tone thanks to the success of his first flop — to compete in Blue Raider swimming briefs.
Hof launched himself from the Lane 5 platform, momentarily appearing to have his body perfectly parallel with the pool’s water, before breaking the surface with a thunderous clap. As the crowd of several hundred onlookers roared with approval and satisfaction, the judges awarded Hof a combined score of 27 points, three points better than Reid’s 24. Vine finished the final round of competition with a third-place 22 points.
Hof, who competed in his first belly flop competition, won $200 for his first-place finish, and his name will be placed on a wooden plaque that will be displayed on campus.
As a member of the Lindsey Wilson swimming team, Hof said it felt a bit odd to leap into a pool belly first.
“That was different for me because I normally lead with my head, not my belly,” said Hof, who competes in freestyle events for the Blue Raiders. “It hurt, but it was 100% worth it.”
Reid won $150 for second place and $50 for creativity. In addition to wearing a long black cape, Reid appeared on the deck in a pair of sunglasses, which she discarded before leaping.
“I wanted to look like super woman,” said Reid, a member of the track and field team who said she watched a few videos on YouTube to get ideas on how to best flop into the water.
Vine picked up $100 for her third-place finish.
The cash prizes and the plaque were sponsored by Lindsey Wilson alumni Josh and Laura Walker Nagode of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Considering that both Blue Raider alumni are physical therapists, their medical expertise might be needed by some of the belly flop contestants.
Lindsey Wilson University students Seth Ousley ’26 of Lancaster, Kentucky, and Aenaya Vines ’29 of Alabaster, Alabama, compete in the hot dog eating contest on Wednesday, Oct. 22, on the Campus Quadrangle. Vines won the contest by consuming 14 hot dogs and buns over three rounds.
Lindsey Wilson University student Aenaya Vines ’29 of Alabaster, Alabama, won the first hot dog eating contest, sponsored by the Lindsey Wilson Student Government Association, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, on the Campus Quadrangle.
Lindsey Wilson University student Lorenz Hof ’29 of Stadtallendorf, Germany, displays the wooden plaque that will bear his name as the winner of the 2025 Belly Flop Championships. From left: Dean of Students Chris Schmidt; second-place finisher Hannah Reid ’28 of Trinidad and Tobago; Huf; third-place finisher Aenaya Vines ’29 of Alabaster, Alabama; Director of Campus Recreation Tori Starks; and Athletic Director Willis Pooler ’93. Pooler, Schmidt and Starks served as judges for the annual event, which was held Thursday, Oct. 23, in the Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center natatorium.
Lindsey Wilson University student Lorenz Hof ’29 of Stadtallendorf, Germany, launches into his winning belly flop on Thursday, Oct. 23, in the Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center natatorium.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)