Pumpkins soared high across Kellogg Ranch on Nov. 3 during a trebuchet showdown, a hands-on engineering competition featuring 10 teams from the College of Science and College of Engineering. Working with $500 budgets, students spent last month designing and building the medieval-style launching structures, competing on creativity, accuracy and presentations explaining their engineering and financial decisions. The smashed pumpkins — the unsold gourds from PumpkinFest — were repurposed as feed for the university’s cows and pigs cared for by the Huntley College of Agriculture. The story also features a photo gallery of the event.

This article was originally published by Inland Valley Daily Bulletin on November 4, 2026.