Pick 10: Big Tens and USA Indoor

This is a big weekend for area indoor track athletes. The Gopher women will be competing at Penn State for the Big Ten Women's Championships, while the Gopher men are staying home to host the event for men. To keep the big dogs busy, the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico starting Saturday morning.

Only Pick Ten can do justice to all this championship action -- at least as far as fantasy prediction contests go.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish for each of 10 Minnesota athletes at Big Tens and USA Indoor. You will score points for each athletes 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 Matt Fisher to place first in the high jump at Big Tens, and he places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Fisher to place first and he finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Fisher to finish third in the HJ and he places first, second or third, you get 6 points, since you that's the place you picked him 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 9:00 A.M. CST on Saturday, February 27 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. As with out Yes/No contests, we don't offer any prizes, so no one needs to fear running afoul of NCAA or other anti-gambling regulations

Pick 10 ... Big Ten/USA Indoor Championships:

Matt Fisher in the High Jump:
Zach Mellon in the 800:
Chris Rombough in the 3000m:
Micah Hegerle in the Weight Throw:
Jordan Helgren in the Triple Jump:
Nikki Swenson in the 800:
Samantha Sonneberg in the Pole Vault:
Will Leer in the 1500:
Heather Dorniden in the 800:
Katelin Rains in the Pole Vault:

To Help You Make Your Picks ...

The Gophers: Defending Big Ten Indoor High Jump Champion Matt Fisher is the #3 seed in the 2009 edition of Big Tens. U of M 3ooom school record holder and four-time All American Chris Rombough is the #2 seed in the 3k. A three-time Minnesota state champion in high school, freshman Micah Hegerle will compete in his first Big Ten Championship as the #8 seed in the weight throw. Nikki Swenson continues the Gopher tradition of middle-distance excellence and is the #2 seed in the 800. The Gophers plan to score mega points in the women's pole vault thanks in part to Samantha Sonneberg who is tied for the #3 seed in the event.

The Badgers: True freshman Zach Mellon is the #6 seed in the 800. Mellon holds the Minnesota state high school all-time record in the 800. Jordan Helgren holds the same MN high school honor in the triple jump and will participate in Big Tens as the #7 seed.

USA Indoor: Team USA Minnesota's Heather Dorniden is the #4 seed in the women's 800m. Minnesota State, Mankato Alum, Katelin Rains is the #6 seed in the women's pole vault. Minnetonka native Will Leer is the #3 seed in the 1500.

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

USA Indoor Track and Field Championship coverage is HERE.

Good luck!

The Y/N question last week was: "Y/N: Will Brittany Henderson run faster than 25.00 in the 200 meters at the U of M on Saturday?" The correct answer was yes - MSU-Mankato's Henderson was comfortably under 25 seconds running 24.74 for the win. Twenty four contestants answered correctly and there are now five players tied for first place: Jesse Schoen, Gloria Jansen, Chad Bjugan, Gregg Robertson and Toby Hatlevig.