KENNEBUNK (AP) – A week after she gorged on bratwurst and grilled-cheese sandwiches, one of the world’s top competitive eaters gobbled down 44 lobsters in 12 minutes Saturday to set a new speed-eating record.

Sonya Thomas, who weighs 98 pounds, humbled her bigger male competitors as she consumed 11.3 pounds of lobster meat, breaking the old record of 9.76 pounds she set last year.

All told, the five contestants scarfed down the equivalent of 113 lobsters worth about $1,000, said organizer John Hathaway.

“What a waste of good lobster,” said Mike Doherty of Biddeford, wincing as he watched the competitors cramming lobster meat into their mouths.

Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., ate the lobsters as quickly as her partner could crack them, leaving the table littered with brine and bits of shells, meat and green tomalley. Afterward, she insisted she could have eaten more.

“I like all kinds of food, but seafood is my favorite,” said Thomas, who has earned $50,000 this year on the competitive eating circuit. Next weekend, she will be competing at a crabcake-eating competition in Delaware, she said

Thomas, known as “The Black Widow,” downed 35 brats in 10 minutes to win a competition in Wisconsin a week earlier. A day earlier, she ate 21.5 grilled-cheese sandwiches in 10 minutes to win a title in San Diego.

Saturday’s contestants included Eric “Badlands” Booker, a 420-pound Brooklyn man who holds the record for doughnuts (49 in eight minutes) and Jason “Crazy Legs” Conti, a 202-pound New Yorker who holds the green bean title (2.71 pounds in six minutes).

During the frenzied competition, Thomas bobbed in rhythm as she devoured lobster in small bites. Conti stuffed larger portions into his mouth. Booker, listening to music on head phones, paused occasionally to swig water from a bottle.

At one point, Thomas lifted a plastic container and drank the lobster juice. When time was called, she grabbed a last bite, her cheeks bulging like a chipmunk’s.

For her effort, the Burger King manager collected a $500 prize, along with a $1,000 appearance fee and a handmade lobster platter.

The cash prize was far less than some other events, such as the Alka Seltzer U.S. Open of Competitive Eating, a five-round event with a $10,000 prize, said International Federation of Competitive Eating spokeswoman Nancy Goldstein. But lobster has prestige, she added.

Goldstein said Thomas showed why she also holds records for hard-boiled eggs (65 in six minutes and 40 seconds), chicken wings (167 in 32 minutes), chicken nuggets (80 in 5 minutes) and Armour Vienna Sausage (8.3 pounds in 10 minutes).

“I don’t know how she does it. But she’s definitely an amazing eater and an amazing talent,” Goldstein said from New York.

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