Down the Backstretch

The Golden Gophers along with some other Minnesota athletes are off to Penn State and Indiana this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Indoor Championships. To celebrate the events, we won’t stop at asking for just our usual Yes/No prediction this week. Instead, in a separate little contest we'll substitute on some of the season's big weekends, we're going to ask you to "Pick Ten."

Don't worry, Yes/No will be back next weekend with a new question, a recap of the last week's results, and the latest standings -- where there's now a lone competitor atop the leaderboard!

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish for each of 10 Minnesota athletes/teams at Big Tens. You will score points for each athletes/team that scores at or above the finish place you predict for them, following the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system.

For example: If you pick Alicia Rue to place first in the PV and she places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Rue to place first and she finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Rue to finish third in the PV and she places first, second or third, you get 6 points, since you that's the place you picked her for.

To play Pick 10, cut and paste the list of names/events below into an e-mail and add your place predictions -- 1st or 2nd or 3rd...8th. Send your predictions by noon CST on Saturday, February 28 to DtBFantasy@gmail.com. Make sure your full name is in the e-mail. We'll announce the winner of this Pick Ten contest next week and keep a running tally of Pick Ten scores from throughout the year to crown a grand champion.

So, without further ado ...

Pick 10 ... Big Ten Indoor Championships:

Matt Fisher in the High Jump:
Hassan Mead in the 3k:
Ibrahim Kabia in the 60:
Aaron Studt in the Shot Put:
Quinn Evans in the 600:
Heather Dorniden in the 600:
Jordan Helgren in the Triple Jump
Alicia Rue in the Pole Vault:
The Gopher Women in the Team Standings:
The Gopher Men in the Team Standings:

To Help You Make Your Picks ... Here's our quick primer on the athletes/teams we've included in the competition: (Everyone mentioned is a Minnesota Gopher unless otherwise noted.) Matt Fisher, a junior, is ranked #1 in the conference in the high jump with a mark of 2.21 meters. Aaron Studt is also a junior and ranked #2 in the Big Ten with an 18.94 meter mark in the shot put. Hassan Mead, the sophomore All-American from Minneapolis South, is ranked #1 in the 3k with his time of 7:56.60. All-American Ibrahim Kabia is ranked #2 in the 60 meter with a mark of 6.64. Heather Dorniden is a 7-time All American and national champion. A senior from Rosemount, she is ranked #1 in the 600 meters at 1:28.55.

Alicia Rue is the defending Big Ten indoor champion in the pole vault. The All-American junior from Robbinsdale Armstrong is ranked #1 in the pole vault. Jordan Helgren is a true freshman at the University of Wisconsin. Helgren set the all-time triple jump record for high school girls in Minnesota while competing at Wayzata in 2008 and is ranked #4 in the TJ at Big Tens. Quinn Evans like Helgren is a UW Badger who set an all-time record while in high school. Evans was a 400 meter standout at Mounds View and now is the #1 ranked runner in 600 at Big Tens.

The Gopher Men finished in 5th place in the conference both Indoor and Outdoor in 2008. The Gopher Women finished 3rd outdoors and are the two-time defending Big Ten Indoor Champions.

Final entries for the meet can be found HERE and HERE.

Good luck!