NEW YORK -- There's just no stopping "Jaws."

Joey Chestnut scarfed down 61 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win his eighth consecutive championship, barely beating Matt Stonie at the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on Friday.

The main course? That came just before the contest, when the 30-year-old Chestnut dropped to his knee on the event stage, just steps from the beach, and proposed to longtime girlfriend and fellow competitive eater Neslie Ricasa, who said yes.

Stonie, who was second in 2013 with 51 dogs, again was the runner-up with 56. Tim "Eater X" Janus was third with 44.

While it was more of the same for the men, there was a new women's champion as Miki Sudo shocked three-time defending champion Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas by wolfing down 34 franks and buns in 10 minutes.

The 46-year-old Thomas, a native of South Korea who now lives in Alexandria, Virginia, was able to devour only 27 3/4 hot dogs and buns. She scarfed down a record 45 dogs and buns last year.

Chestnut, who was neck-and-neck with Stonie for the first eight minutes of the event -- they were tied at 53 with 1:13 remaining -- pulled ahead for good down the stretch to continue his stranglehold on the Nathan's "Mustard Belt."

"I could never find my rhythm, so it was just a dogfight the whole time," said Chestnut, who won last year with a record 69 franks and buns.

Both Chestnut and Stonie reside in San Jose, California.

The 61 hot dogs and buns equates to 23,790 calories, 1,189.5 grams of fat, 60,390 milligrams of sodium, 2,245 grams of carbohydrates and 793 grams of protein.

Takeru Kobayashi had held the record with six consecutive wins, but in 2010, he refused to sign an exclusive contract with Major League Eating, the food equivalent of the NFL, and was banned from competition.

This year, Kobayashi will compete against five other competitive eaters at a separate event on Fifth Avenue in a quest to down the most hot dogs without buns in 10 minutes.

Darren Rovell of ESPN.com and The Associated Press contributed to this report.