Pumpkin Squashes Competition In Calif. Weigh-off

A giant pumpkin from Iowa is the prize of the patch after squashing the competition in a heavyweight championship on California's coast. The gigantic gourd tipped the scales at 1,658 pounds to win the 36th annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay on Monday.

The pumpkin set a new weight record for California. Contest spokesman Tim Beeman says the old state record was 1,535 pounds.

At $6 a pound, Des Moines grower Don Young will take home a $9,948 prize. He says he didn't expect to win and is very happy.

The sizable squash falls short of the world record apparently set last week at an Ohio weigh-off by one registering 1,725 pounds.

Young's winning gourd will be shown off this weekend at the Half Moon Bay pumpkin festival.