HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — A Minnesota horticulture teacher remained the reigning champion Monday of an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California where his massive gourds have won the top prize four years in a row. Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, beat his closest competitor by 6 pounds to clinch the victory at the 51st World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. His winning gourd came in at 2,471 pounds, falling short of the world record he set last year with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds. “We had really, really tough weather and somehow, some way, I kept on working,” Gienger said. He said the giant pumpkin’s next stop will be in Southern California, where a team of professional carvers will do a 3D carve on it at a Halloween event.

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Persons: Travis Gienger, ” Gienger, “ Locations: Calif, —, Minnesota, Northern California, Anoka , Minnesota, San Francisco, California, Southern California