Overbrook ? Among all the wiggling noses, floppy ears and downy coats here at Twitchin’ Whiskers Rabbitry, two champion rabbits are hopping a bit higher today.

Elston’s Fiesta and Elston’s Keene, a pair of mini lops bred at Tracy and Mark Elston’s rural Overbrook farm, beat out 400 other furry competitors this past weekend to claim best in breed and best opposite in breed honors at the Mini Lop National Convention in Pueblo, Colo.

Tracy Elston, along with her husband, Mark, swept the top two awards at the Mini Lop National Convention, the Super Bowl of the bunny world. Elston's Fiesta and Elston's Keene, a pair of mini lops, beat out 400 other furry competitors this past weekend to claim best in breed and best opposite in breed honors at the national competition in Pueblo, Colo. Elston handled the champs on Wednesday at her farm near Overbrook.

Although the Elstons and their prize-winning bunnies have won national competitions five times before, their sweep of the top two awards is unprecedented at the national convention.

“That was an honor,” said Tracy Elston, who’s been breeding mini lops for 18 years. “I was excited, and I thought I was going to have a stroke.”

Fiesta, a doe, edged out fellow Twitchin’ Whiskers buck Keene to win best in breed. Now that they’ve proven that they’re made of superior rabbit stuff, Fiesta and Keene will be bred to see if they can give birth to future all-stars.

Wednesday night, Elston was having a hard time keeping her hands on the duo. Two deep red teeth marks on her wrist were signs, she said, that Fiesta had tired of behaving well for contest judges.

“She’s like the Scarlett O’Hara of the rabbit world: very, very, very pretty but very, very, very mean,” Elston said.

But the rabbits’ temperament doesn’t count quite as much with judges as their build. Breed standards call for mini lops with short, compact, well-balanced bodies and ears that hang right next to their rounded, bulldog-shaped heads, Elston said.

The Elstons and their 17-year-old son, Brandon, keep more than 150 examples of the breed in individual cages in a red barn behind their country home. Accumulations of rabbit fur hang like spider webs from the ceiling, cages and cage supports. Tracy Elston said her Shop Vac couldn’t keep pace with the molting rabbits.

Lops not fit for showing the Elstons average 25 to 30 shows a year are sold for a minimal fee as pets. Show stock goes for a steeper price to breeders around the country. Either way, seeing the animals go always breaks Tracy Elston’s heart a little.

“They’re all my pets,” she said, gently stroking Fiesta’s back. “Everybody tells me, even the judges, that I have the most spoiled rabbits in the United States.”