Bicentennial Beard Contest Ends In Razor-Sharp Finish

The got a little hairy on Wednesday night as 10 contestants vied for the best beard in Westlake at .

A panel of six female judges, some of whom were sporting fake beards of their own, listened to each contestant make their case before awarding first place and runner-up in each category. The judges were Martha Campbell, Lisa Cruse,  Tracy Heberle, Sylvia Scherm, Karen Wolf and Marian Zietz.

First-place winners received a $25 gift card to and the runners-up won a $15 gift card to . Here are the winners:

Best Beard

First place: Russ Ezolt

Runner-up: Dennis Clough

Best Use of Color

First place: Rick Grane

Runner-up: Paul Gresbach

Most Innovative

First place: Reid Wilder

Runner-up: Will Krause

Longest Beard

First place: Andrew Mangels (1.75 inches)

Runner-up: Paul Quinn (1.5 inches)

Worst Beard

First place: Mel Maurer

Runner-up: Joel Tomkalski (not present for judging)

See the before and after pictures, and vote for your favorite bicentennial beard: