After an intense four minutes of lettuce eating, yelling, and some vomiting, Wyatt Leutzinger was crowned as “Head Lettuce” by Green Group. Leutzinger’s first act: “to make these damn lettuce heads smaller because oh my God.”
At Green Group’s second lettuce-head eating competition, around 10 competitors raced to finish an entire head of lettuce. Dressing was optional. The event was meant to promote eating sustainably in a fun way.
Leutzinger’s lettuce-eating time clocked in at just over four minutes. He said he has an interest in competitive eating, and a push from his friend, Carrie Robinson, who serves as the vice president of membership in Green Group, convinced him to participate.
“I’ve never done something like this before,” Leutzinger said. “I kind of pulled away some tips (from YouTube), like I had a glass of water.”
Leutzinger, a junior, said he’d be back again next year to defend his crown.
Noah Sanford, who came in ready to take the crown, had to slow down after regurgitating his head of lettuce halfway through the competition.
“I’ve been a vegetarian for five years, so I thought maybe I stood a chance,” Sanford said. “I fasted a full 24 hours and drank a whole bunch of water to expand my stomach. It didn’t work, obviously.”
Despite the loss, Sanford thanked his three friends, Alex, Diego and Erik, for coming out to support him.
After being crowned as Head Lettuce, Leutzinger spoke to the crowd, namely Sanford.
“I’d like to thank my competition,” Leutzinger said. “I’m sorry it ended that way. I feel you, man. I was going through the same thing.”
The next lettuce-eating competition’s date hasn’t been set yet, but Green Group routinely plans other activities, notably Earth Day events.
“A big thing that we do is we try to help maintain the community garden out by Ahlberg Hall,” Robinson said. “We also do a bunch of outreach in volunteering, from trash pickups to volunteering at Kansas Pro Recycling and some thrift shops in downtown Wichita.
“We’re just trying to have fun while … trying to educate us on how to be more sustainable.”
To see upcoming Green Group events, visit their Instagram.
