Tonganoxie ? When Sonja Frevele attended Tonganoxie High School, her lunch period lasted only 25 minutes. By the time she got her food, she usually had only 15 minutes because of the long line.

Frevele, now a student at Kansas City Kansas Community College, can look back at the brief lunch period as training for the Leavenworth County Fair.

Frevele, 23, won Saturday’s pie-eating contest at the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds in Tonganoxie. The fair has held the contest for the past five years, except in 2004. Frevele has won every time.

In preparation for the contest, Frevele hadn’t eaten since Friday evening.

“I’m actually not too full,” Frevele said afterward. “I’ll probably go home and eat something – maybe a carrot.”

Frevele also exercised before the contest. She woke up about 8 a.m. and did sit-ups before arriving at the fairgrounds.

About 20 pie eaters competed and had their hands held behind their backs with rubber bands.

Each competitor was given a plate that had three assorted types of pie on it.

“You just have to swallow a lot of it,” Frevele said. “Suck it in, eat it, stick it down.”

The turtle race event followed the pie-eating contest in the Big Top Tent. Saturday’s turtle race featured 76 turtles.

The race was broken up into 11 heats. The winner from each heat competed in a final race to determine the overall champion.

Erin Gallagher, 5, Tonganoxie, had the winning turtle, No. 62.

“Every night, I took him for a walk,” Erin said of her turtle. “I always put him on our living room floor as well.”

Erin has had her turtle, Flash, for two weeks. She found it in a flower bed at her grandmother’s home.

“Why did I name him Flash? Because he’s fast,” Erin said.

A demolition derby closed the fair Saturday night.