EAU CLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — There was a big upset at the annual International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship in southwestern Michigan.
For the first time in 20 years, the winner was not named Krause or Lessard.
Ronn Matt of Chicago won the competition Saturday afternoon by spitting a pit 69 feet at Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm near Eau Claire, just north of the Indiana border.
Members of the Krause and Lessard families have dominated the event since 1992.
Brian “Young Gun” Krause of Dimondale holds the world record of more than 93 feet, and has won the past two years.
But Krause finished fifth Saturday with a spit of 52 feet, 10 inches.
Owner Herb Teichman launched the tournament on a lark nearly four decades ago. It now attracts competitors from the U.S. and beyond.
