Five students from Doddridge County High School got creative with sandwich bags, egg crates, balloons and duct tape to win the 21st annual Pumpkin Drop Friday (Oct. 31) at West Virginia University .

Team Tried Hards protected pumpkin landed 1 foot, 9 inches from the target without breaking after falling 11 floors from the roof of the Engineering Sciences Building on WVU s Evansdale Campus.

The studentspackage consisted of a small box containing the pumpkin and inflated sandwich bags within a larger box packed with two egg crates. The package sat atop a third box containing used cardboard boxes and balloons wrapped in duct tape. A parachute made of tarpaulin slowed the containers descent.

Team members Megan Dotson, Fran Gray, Kristin Hutson, Kyle Kelley and Ashley Robinson will share the $50 grand prize.

Students from South Middle School in Morgantown finished second after their entry landed 2 feet, 9 inches from the target intact. The teamNicki Bierer, Ross Coffers, James Taylor and Austin Waugamanreceived $25.

A team from Yough Senior High School in Herminie, Pa., finished third. The teams pumpkin landed 4 feet, 10 inches from the target without going splat. Amy Federoff, Emily Forejt, Victoria Grimm and Kaylee Mozgawa will share the $10 prize.

Some 130 pumpkins rained on the engineering campus during the annual autumnal event sponsored by the WVU student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers . Of that number, 22 survived.

Besides being an engineering challenge for the participants, the event also raised more than $1,300 for Ronald McDonald House , which provides lodging for families of critically ill children being treated at four local hospitals.