ALAMOSA — Winning Grand Champion in this year’s SLV Beat the Heat BBQ competition was Alamosa’s own Woody’s Q Shack — Kyle Woodward and Jose Ortega.

“This was a huge win for us for several reasons,” Woodward said. “First and foremost, losing my dad, who normally competes with me, just three days before the competition made the weekend very emotional and difficult to concentrate.”

Kyle’s father Jeff, who passed away after fighting cancer, fostered the idea of a barbecue competition in Alamosa, and it has grown since its inception several years ago.

“We definitely had some extra help coming from above!,” Kyle Woodward said.

He added that the win was also significant because of the tough competition.

“This was also a very difficult field of competitors with the number 1 ranked team in the country being here as well as two previous world champions to go along with the best of the best from Colorado, the field was stacked!,” he said. “Most of the teams compete several times per year, if not every weekend. We only compete 3-5 times per year. So to win against that difficult of a field was huge! We also managed to score 700.56 points out of a total possible 720. We were only 1 of 2 teams in the entire country to score over 700 points last weekend.”

Another reason the win was significant was that Woody’s Q Shack was able to perfect its brisket entry this year, which had been the team’s downfall in 2017.

“We also won the brisket category for the first time ever,” Kyle Woodward said. “To put the icing on the cake, we felt like we owed ourselves after being the runner up last year at this competition. Our brisket cost us the Grand Championship last year and we were bound and determined to not let that happen again.”

He added, “Winning our home competition in front of our family, friends and customers was a big deal.”

By winning grand champion on Saturday, Woody’s Q Shack automatically qualified to compete in the 2019 American Royal Invitational in Kansas City. The team will also be entered into the lottery drawing for a chance to compete in the 2019 Jack Daniels World Championship in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

In addition to Woody’s Q Shack taking Grand Champion honors on Saturday, other overall winners in the SLV Beat the Heat BBQ, Brews and Chili competition were:

Reserve Grande Champion - La Pasadita

3rd — Boomerang BBQ

4th — Big Daddy’s Backyard BBQ

5th — 3 Lil’ Mac’s BBQ

6th — Grillin’ Beavers

7th — Vogt’s BBQ

8th — Buffalo’s BBQ

9th — 4 Legs Up BBQ

10th  Buckshot BBQ

Top placers in the event categories were:

Chicken

1st — La Pasadita

2nd — Knife Pork and Spoon

3rd — Buffalo’s BBQ

4th — Bracken Racks BBQ

5th — Smokin Timbers BBQ

6th — Grillin Beavers

7th — Backdraft BBQ

8th — Kraze-E BBQ

9th — Woody’s Q Shack

10th — 303 BBQ

Pork Ribs

1st — Boomerang BBQ

2nd — Big Daddy’s Backyard BBQ

3rd — Vogt’s BBQ

4th — La Pasadita

5th — Woody’s Q Shack

6th — Grillin’ Beavers

7th — Burnin’ Bob’s Butts n Bones

8th — Rocket Boys Pyro BBQ

9th — 4 Legs Up BBQ

10th — 303 BBQ

Pork

1st — La Pasadita

2nd — Woody’s Q Shack

3rd — Buckshot BBQ

4th — Smokin Timbers BBQ

5th — Boomerang BBQ

6th — B-S BBQ Outlaws

7th — Honeyman BBQ

8th — Rocket Boys Pyro BBQ

9th — 3 Lil’ Mac’s BBQ

10th — BurntOut BBQ

Brisket

1st — Woody’s Q Shack

2nd — Pig Farmer’s BBQ

3rd — Big Daddy’s Backyard BBQ

4th — 4 Legs Up BBQ

5th — 3 Lil’ Mac’s BBQ

6th — Rocket Boys Pyro BBQ

7th — Lucky Smoke

8th — Buckshot BBQ

9th — Backdraft BBQ

10th — Boomerang BBQ

Caption: The Woodward family and business partner Jose Ortega celebrate their win at the SLV Beat the Heat BBQ on Saturday./Courtesy photos

Woody’s Q Shack owners Jose Ortega, right, and Michelle and Kyle Woodward are Grand Champion winners at the 2018 SLV Beat the Heat BBQ.