MSU Graduate Sits Among The World’s Highest Ranked Competitive Eaters

I'd like to think that I can put away some food, but I've got nothing on this girl...

Recent graduate of MSU and Michigan native, Meredith Boxberger is one of the world's top competitive eaters. You wouldn't think it right away, mostly because she looks like a far cry from the old school "bigger dude" type to frequent eating contests, but Boxberger can put away wings... and hot dogs and moon pies and whatever other foods they might be serving up as the challenge. And the Lansing State Journal says it all started with a sort-of "bucket list" that she put together.

After graduating from Wayne State in 2008, Boxberger purchased a Little Caesars franchise near one of the town's she grew up in, Barrie, Canada. A few years later, Boxberger became bored of the same thing day in and day out; and that's what brought about this "life list". One of the items she wanted to cross off that list was compete in an eating contest. Boxberger got her first taste of the competitive eating circuit when she decided to go to an eating contest that a local pizza place was holding. She thought it was not big deal... at first. What made this contest such a big deal, you may ask? Well, none other than the world champion of eating, Takeru Kobayashi, decided to join in!

After that first competition (in which Boxberger took third place in and $500), and competing in a second one shortly there after, she was hooked. Boxberger is currently ranked 17th in the world, 4th in women globally, and 1st among men or women in Canada. And just to give you an idea of what this woman has stomached since her first eating competition in August of 2011, here's a short list of her gastronomic feats!

• 23½ moon pies in eight minutes
• 82 wings in 10 minutes
• 9 pounds of poutine (poutine is a Canadian dish consisting of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy) in 10 minutes

... just to name a few of her accomplishments. Recently, Boxberger took part in a hot dog eating contest at local watering hole, What Up Dawg? right here in East Lansing. During the contest she took down all 9 of What Up Dawg's? signature hot dogs in under 20 minutes. And then washed it all down with a beer! Meredith Boxberger is truly awesome. Check out the full story of her competitive eating history HERE, or just watch the video below to get a small glimpse into what an eating competition looks like for Boxberger!