1,775-pound pumpkin wins Calif. weigh-off

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HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- An pumpkin filling a pickup truck bed and weighing 1,775 pounds won Monday's weigh-off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., the self-described "World Pumpkin Capital."

For Thad Starr, 45, of Pleasant Hill, Ore., it was his third win as a pumpkin grower in what was billed as a "world championship pumpkin weigh-off." He high-fived his daughter Danika, 9, as his wife Katrina and son Derek, 7, joined the celebration, the San Mateo County Times reported.

"It's awesome," Starr said.

He will be awarded a prize of $10,650, or $6 per pound, but missed out on a $25,000 bonus since his oblong pumpkin failed to beat the world record of 2,009 pounds set by a Rhode Island grower in September, weigh-off organizers said.