A Greensburg man who has a stomach for quickly consuming hot dogs, beat 11 competitors Sunday at the Kecksburg UFO Festival’s Alien Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The key to James David “J.D.” Gillis’s victory over 10 men and one woman was to break the hot dog and bun in half, dip it in water and then shove it in his mouth, he said after his four-minute sprint to gastronomy fame before a crowd of 50-some people at the Kecksburg Fire Department grounds.

“I won it last year and I am going to a three-peat next year,” said the 25-year-old Gillis, proudly holding the trophy he won.

He was so dominant over his competition that Gillis was finished with eight hot doges before some competitors had eaten two or three. There was nothing “alien” about the hot dogs, other than they were cooked at a festival devoted to paying homage to and earning money from the aura of unidentified flying objects.

One of his secrets to winning the competition is that he did not eat anything yesterday before the competition began around 1 p.m. In fact, he was on a 24-hour fast prior to the contest.

Gillis called himself the “Joey Chestnut of Kecksburg.” That’s a reference to the famed hot dog-eating champion who set a record of eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes in 2023 at Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The Sporting News reported in 2022 that Chestnut had won $160,000 for winning 16 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contests, equal to $10,000. Gills’ take Sunday was much more modest — $25 — which he said he will spend on treating his girlfriend, Molly Smetak of Ligonier, to dinner.

Looks can deceive in a hot dog eating contest and Kecksburg’s version was no different.

A man with carrying more bulk than Gills, UFO enthusiast Patrick Campbell of Youngstown, Ohio, had about two hot dogs and stopped.

“The hot dogs are bigger than they look,” Gillis said, looking down at all the dogs still on his plate.

“It’s a lot more harder than you think. You take that first bite and wonder what I got myself into,” said Sean Kirby of Murrysville, who managed to down 2 1/2 hot dogs.

Madison McKelvey of Greensburg gobbled down three hot dogs and a plateful for those who were watching her compete.

It was her first time competing in the hot dog eating contest and could not eat them fast enough, so five were saved for family and friends.

The Kecksburg version of gluttony has yet to make New York-based Major League Eating’s list of professional eating contests and is not ready to rival the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on New York’s Long Island on July 4 — where this year’s winner downed 58 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

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