Visitors crowded around a table of 11 competitors to see who would make the cut in the apple peeling contest at the Lake County Fair Monday morning.

The contest, featuring several previous winners, required the participants to slice a Granny Smith apple in an attempt to make the longest peel without it breaking.

The announcer made it clear that the lengthiest unbroken peel would determine the winner, not the participant who spent the longest time peeling.

After about 10 minutes, George Schmidt of Monticello and William Dolick of Reynolds were the only contestants still peeling. After the judge made his rounds measuring each apple peel, Casimira Bilinski of Calumet City, Ill., placed third while Dolick finished as the runner-up. A cut above the rest, Schmidt was announced the winner with a peel length of 53 ¾ inches.

“It’s always fun to win. I’ve done it two times before but this is my first win, I never even got second or third,” Schmidt said. “I like my trophy, it’s really nice.”

Schmidt said that Dolick, who won first place last year, helped him win by serving as his coach and trainer.

“It’s important to concentrate as it’s really hard not to break the apple peel. I really give all the credit to the apples, they’re really good this year,” Schmidt said. “You’ve got to have a good, hard skin; otherwise it’s liable to break.”

As runner-up, Dolick also received a trophy. He said he won the contest four times in the past, including last year, and three times in a row prior to that.

“I only had 47 inches this year. Last year when I won, they gave me a gift certificate to shop in Crown Point, and I got $20 and a big trophy when I won about 10 years ago,” Dolick said.

“I had to work harder this year. When you peel an apple, it can slip and jump out of your hand, so you’ve got to have your thumb on it while being careful not to slice yourself.”

As if his first place finish wasn’t enough, shortly after receiving his apple peeling trophy, a fair official plopped a 24-inch LCD TV in front of Schmidt, who said he plans to return next year to defend his apple peeling title.

“The whole reason I got into this was for the free apple to eat,” joked Schmidt. “But I won the raffle too! I just can’t lose today!”

cbuchmeierleathers@post-trib.com