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Students compete in a pumpkin pie eating contest during lunch
Aadyot Bhatnagar (11), Vivek Bharadwaj (10), and Avi Khemani (9) prepare for the pumpkin pie eating contest. Six contestants participated in the round, and Aadyot emerged victorious. Participants and onlookers alike enjoyed the Thanksgiving-themed event.
Students and spectators gathered around a circular table in front of Manzanita Hall today during both lunches to watch the third annual pumpkin pie eating contest.
The contestants kneeled down in front of their plates and Spirit Club co-advisor Andrew Irvine handed out four thick wedges of pumpkin pie. On the count of three, the competitors shoved their faces into their plates and began eating as fast as they could.
Competitors were not permitted to use their hands, causing some of them to have difficulty eating the pie.
Junior Shikhar Dixit entered the competition because he noticed that there were no participants from his class, and looked to Irvine for motivation.
“Whenever I looked at him and looked back at the pumpkin pie, I knew that I was going to win. I feel like pumpkin pie eating is a key tradition to Thanksgiving,” Shikhar said.
He won a chocolate turkey for eating his pie the fastest, and expressed his appreciation for the contest.
Some onlookers were slightly disturbed as they observed their classmates devour the food.
“Seeing everyone going straight in and having crumbs all over their face was disgusting,” Mehul Khetrapal (10) said.
Others were simply entertained by watching the contestants stuff pie into their mouths.
“I thought it was fun watching people get all messy,” sophomore Mary Najibi said.
Spirit club co-president Julia Wang (11) was excited to continue the tradition of pumpkin pie eating that the club started two years ago.
“It’s kind of a Thanksgiving tradition before Thanksgiving. Everyone crowds around and gets really excited,” she said.
While everyone watching the event seemed to be enjoying themselves, senior Silpa Karipineni wished the competition had counted for class points.
“I think it would have been better if they did it by grade instead of just whoever wanted to do it,” she said.
Spirit Club will host another activity in the gym tomorrow during long lunch, the final round of the annual dodgeball tournament. It is featuring the seniors against a team of faculty members.
Natasha Mayor is a reporter for Harker Aquila and the TALON Yearbook. She is a sophomore and has been part of the journalism program since freshman year....