A California engineer and gardening enthusiast won the top prize at an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,346 pounds.

Brandon Dawson, of Santa Rosa, California, clinched the victory Monday at the 52nd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

Dawson pumped his arms in the air and sat his two children on top of the giant pumpkin — roughly the same weight as a small sedan or a large bison — after being crowned this year’s winner. It was an especially sweet victory after last year when Dawson lost the competition by 6 pounds.

Dawson, a manufacturing engineer at electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive, said he has been growing massive pumpkins for five years. Precision skills acq

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