Each year, teams formed in Salisbury High School teacher Paul Koba's physics classes plot to build machines to toss a frozen turkey down a field in a competition that dates back to 1995.

This year, a team of three seniors spent about 100-man-hours to build a catapult utilizing nearly 800 pounds of lead weights from the school's weight room to fling the 18-year-old frozen turkey 70 yards down a field behind the school.

The object is not only to win the current-year competition, but also to break the record for the longest toss. The winning machine, nicknamed "Turchuckin," beat the toss record set in 2003 by four yards.

Team members Sinjon Bartel, Austin Watson and Patrick Golden, used material from Harbor Freight, a winch to set the 700-pound catapult payload, and wood and connectors from Home Depot to construct the winning machine.

The competition, usually held on the last school day before Thanksgiving, was rained out by inclement weather and rescheduled for Dec. 6.

While Koba said the event would go on "rain or shine," Friday's rainfall let up just before the noon start time for the event. A crowd of supporters lined the field where the competition took place, while others inside classrooms cheered their support.

Koba said he was impressed by the ingenuity of this year's entries.

One entry used junk yard air bag parts to fuel a canon that tossed the bird some 32 yards down the field. To add drama, the air bag canon team used a compressed air cylinder to blast air horns warning of the canon's ignition.

The air bag canon team included Peter Manakos, Sara Reichard, Tyler Zaklukiewicz, Alex Ververelli, Jon Anderson and Tim Constatini.

A team composed of students William Walsh, Robert Rapp, A.J. Foulke and Alec Kies used a simple spring-loaded catapult to toss the turkey down the field.

Koba said the annual event is much-anticipated each year among his physics class students.

"It not only teaches the students how to apply the simple-machine principles they are learning in class, it also provides an opportunity for recognition in an area other than school sports," Koba said.

Koba keeps the turkey frozen at his home from year to year to level the field for those trying to break a previous year's record toss. This is the 18th year Koba has pressed the old bird into service.