As the drizzle started to turn into heavier rain, Kevin Thacker walked away from Pumpkin Bowling as the victor. Thacker, an assistant director of Waynesburg University’s Student Activities Board and a volunteer assistant for the track and field team, defeated Waynesburg Women’s Soccer graduate assistant coach, Kayla Jenkins, in the championship round. 

Last year, Thacker lost in the first round of Pumpkin Bowling.

“I was asked to play a couple days ago,” Thacker said. “Last year, I was asked on the day of the event. This year I was mentally prepared.”

His strategy was to use the biggest pumpkin that was available. 

“Why not go big or go home,” Thacker said. “After the first toss, I kind of got an idea of how to toss it. The pumpkins were going far left, so I tried to aim right.”

The final round against Jenkins went into multiple overtimes. 

At the start of the final round, Thacker and Jenkins were required to use a specific pumpkin, which was painted as Forky from Toy Story, which deviated Thacker from his go big or go home strategy. After two pinless frames from both competitors, the pumpkin was changed to a WCYJ-FM radio-designed pumpkin, and Thacker ultimately won the contest. 

“There were some great competitors today,” Thacker said. “I was a little bit surprised with my performance.”

The complete bracket can be found below: