NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A group of Old Dominion University students celebrated Halloween with a spooky contest as they held their annual pumpkin drop on campus Thursday, bringing in spectators and competitors alike.   Students dropped the pumpkins off a nine-story building into different catchers on the ground, designed by hopeful students aiming for their skydiving pumpkin to come out unscratched.  "We had one [pumpkin catcher] that was like a hay bale on a pallet, and one that was in a trash can,” said James Wile, president of the ODU's Society of Physics Students Chapter. “All I wanted was people to actually come out and have a good time, you know, and so, we got that.”  Wile said the winning team got a $200 telescope.  Of the multiple teams that competed, only one pumpkin catcher came out on top, and it was the trash can stuffed with pillows.  It was an outcome that student Colin Murphy, who was on the winning team, didn’t see coming.   “I was actually pretty stunned," Murphy said. "Actually, on the first drop, the trash can actually split in half. And so we didn't think it actually work again. But funnily enough, it actually worked better the second time." According to Dr. Matthew Nerem, a lecturer of physics at ODU, this happened for a reason.  “Think about crumple zones in a vehicle, if you crash a car together, the car is crumpling together, so all the energy is being distributed to mush up the car and not mush up you," Nerem said. "And it's the same idea here. The team got lucky where the pumpkin smashed into the side of their trash can, and so, their trash can was the one getting destroyed, not their pumpkin." According to Murphy, he’s leaving the contest with an important life lesson.   "Even when you don't succeed at first, ... you try and try again," Murphy said, "and then eventually, soon, everything will work out for you."