Going to the dogs pays off for Watertown teen

But for ketchup-stained Robert Lavallee of Watertown and seven other contestants with a hankering for hot dogs, the last weekend of the season on Boston’s Spectacle Island had a touch of the amusement park flair that animates New York’s annual wiener gorging.

Lavallee, an 18-year-old who likes his dogs with steak sauce, Dijon mustard, and relish, sprinted and stretched before devouring seven frankfurters and a big bite of his eighth to win the 10-minute competition.

“I had fun and I got something out of it,’’ said the buzz-cut teen after calling his mother about the contest. “Two things actually: being full and a gift certificate.’’

The Summer Shack restaurant, which cosponsored the event along with the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, doled out Pearl deli-style dogs - a Randolph-based brand - in hopes of selling its last 320 wieners of the summer.

“I figured it’s the last weekend of the season, so why not have some people come out and stuff their face?’’ said Krystle Campbell, a 26-year-old manager at the shack who organized the event.

At the table topped with napkins, water, mustard, ketchup, and red plastic buckets - just in case - Lavallee’s neighbor, Dennis Klem, polished off six dogs with a smattering of ketchup.

Klem, a 31-year-old math teacher from Waltham, said he dreams of opening a hot dog stand in Boston after discovering his holy grail of sausages - the kasekrainer wiener filled with all the fixings and melted hunks of cheese - on a trip to Vienna.

Stateside, Klem gets his fix with Hummel doggies, a Connecticut staple, and uses hot dogs and chili dogs to teach freshman algebra at Newton North High School.

His hot dog hang-up?

“I won’t eat all-beef hot dogs,’’ he said. “It’s got to have a little pork and sawdust in it.’’

Klem tried to average a hot dog per minute, which panned out until wiener numbers four and five.

“My last four minutes, I think I ate that sixth hot dog,’’ he said. “Plus the guy next to me was just plowing through his, so I knew I was not going to beat him.’’

The contest cost competitors $5 for as many dogs as they could down. Spectacle Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands, will host two more contests today.

Graham Sysko, a 25-year-old from Quincy, ate 6 1/4 dogs as his girlfriend and her parents cheered him on.

“I don’t actually like them,’’ he said. “But I don’t really turn any food down.’’

Among the other competitors was 22-year-old Erin Chung, a thin 5-foot-3-inch clinical research coordinator at Massachusetts General Hospital who put away four hot dogs.

“I haven’t had breakfast yet,’’ she said before sitting down at the picnic table. “I’m hungry.’’

But her strategy was no match for Lavallee, who downed a slice and a half of cheese pizza for breakfast.

“He’s an animal,’’ Campbell, the Summer Shack manager, said as gobs of ketchup slid off Lavallee’s fingers.

Lavallee pocketed a $50 gift certificate and took a tip from hot dog pros: He dunked a few dogs in water to soften the buns and make for a more digestible bite.

“I’ve won a hot dog-eating contest,’’ said Lavallee, whose white T-shirt remained unscathed. “Maybe if I win a couple more, then I’ll think about trying to be a hot dog-eating champion.’’