Spectators crowded Qdoba last night to find out what it takes to be a burrito-eating champion.

At the preliminary round for the second annual Rice and Bean Pot last night, “Team Fuca,” which consisted of captain Josh Barr, Duffy Lau, Anthony Vernale and one student who asked not to be named, took the early lead and held onto it for the duration of the contest. Competing in the first of six heats, the team finished with a time of 4:53.6, winning the event by over a minute.

Each teammate was responsible for eating one burrito in the relay-style competition.

The winning teams from Boston College, Boston University, Harvard and Northeastern will compete for a spring break trip to Cancun in the finals next Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Paradise Rock Club.

Vernale, a junior finance major, said he felt confident about his team’s chances in the finals.

“We need to cut about a minute off our time if we want to beat what they did last year,” he said, referring to Harvard, the reigning champs.

“We’re going to be training all week,” he said, before leaving the restaurant with another burrito.

After an hour-and-a-half of total competition, Team Fuca advanced to next week’s finals. Some students participated at the event for the second time.

“I did this last year, so I kind of consider myself a veteran of the burrito-eating contest,” said Zack Geneseo, a junior criminal justice major who was rejoined by two of his former teammates.

Scott Bernstein, a partner at TRP Sports and Entertainment, the marketing company for Qdoba, said the event is an opportunity to reach out to its surrounding colleges.

“We found ourselves on three of the four Beanpot campuses and we were brainstorming what to do with the college market,” Bernstein said. And so the Rice and Bean Pot was born.

The preliminary round was free of charge, but there will be a $10 fee to attend the finals – the proceeds of which will benefit the Cam Neely Foundation, Bernstein said. Qdoba will also donate a portion of its sales to the foundation, from Jan. 20 and continuing for about a month, he said. –>