11:50 a.m., Oct. 30, 2009----Amid the ghosts and goblins and myriad traditional Halloween symbols is a new, friendly face: The University of Delaware's beloved mascot, YoUDee.

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Christopher Viehman, who graduated from UD in 2007 with a degree in civil engineering, propelled YouDee to pumpkin fame by beating nine contestants -- all members of Kappa Alpha fraternity who now live in Baltimore -- in an annual pumpkin carving contest.

During the contest, which took place on Wednesday, Oct. 28, during the first World Series match between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, Viehman was cheered on by his roommate, Brian Werrell, who also graduated from UD in 2007 with a degree in civil engineering.

“I looked up a picture on the UD Web site to get the official YoUDee logo, then did a free hand sketch with a pen and just started carving," Viehman said. "Not a lot of pre-thought went into it and the time went by faster due to the World Series being on. It took about one and a half hours, and all the while I was soothed by Brian's cursing at the Yankees.”

The outcome was a striking image of a smiling YoUDee wrapped around a huge pumpkin, radiating orange light. Werrell took a picture of the winner.

"We always have fun with the pumpkin carving every year," Viehman said. "I carved the wining pumpkin and the prize is the glory of being able to brag about it."

Article by Martin A Mbugua
Photo by Brian Werrell