Pick 10: The Roy Griak Invitational

Fans of the University of Minnesota cross country team will have only a short time to contemplate losing three-time cross country All-American Hassan Mead, who is out for the season with a collapsed lung. The team will quickly discover how they stack up this year without Mead as the Gophers host the Roy Griak Invitational on Saturday. The Gopher women have some questions to answer as well as they move on without 2009 seniors Megan Duwell, Heather Dorniden, Amy Laskowske, and Elizabeth Yetzer.

While the Griak meet would be a spectacular event if it was only a Division I race, it is much more than that. There are 11 races throughout the day featuring all levels of college runners as well as four high school races and even a kids race.

There is too much action for a single question, so we will bring back the Pick 10 contest this week.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes/teams in each particular race at the Roy Griak Invitational. You will score points for each athlete who scores at or above the finish place you predict for them, following the 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system.

For example: If you pick Ben Blankenship to place first in the men's gold race, and he places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Blankenship to place first and he finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Blankenship to finish third in the race and he places first, second or third, you get 6 points, since you that's the place you picked him for.

To play Pick Ten, cut and paste the list of names/events below into an e-mail and add your place predictions -- 1st or 2nd or 3rd...10th. Send your predictions by 9:00 A.M. CST on Saturday, September 25th to DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] 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 our 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 ... Roy Griak Invitational:

University of Minnesota Women:

University of Minnesota Men:

Ben Blankenship (University of Minnesota):

Stephanie Price (University of Minnesota):

Morgan Place (University of Minnesota-Duluth):

Jacob Bastyr (Minnesota State-Mankato):

University of Minnesota-Duluth Women:

Simone Childs-Walker (Carleton):

St. Thomas Women:

Hamline Men:

To Help You Make Your Picks ...

The University of Minnesota men's team placed fourth at Griak last year. Currently the Gophers are ranked 27th in the nation. Other ranked teams in this race include New Mexico (11th), North Carolina State (12th), BYU (16th), Duke (19th), Iowa State (21st).

The Gopher women were second at Griak 2009 with a very low score of 48. The Gophers are currently ranked 28th in the nation. This team races promises to be very competitive as nine of the squads ran at the National meet last year. Ranked teams include: Duke (7th), Providence (14th), Iowa State (15th), New Mexico (18th), Arizona (24th), Penn State (27th).

Ben Blankenship finished fourth at Griak a year ago. The 2010 field looks wide open as only 3 of the top twelve finishers will return. Stephanie Price was 22nd a year ago and is undefeated so far in 2010 and has dominated the competition in two minor meets.

Morgan Place won the Division II race at 2009 Griak. Place has spent her entire college career winning races and she is undefeated so far in 2010. Jacob Bastyr was 41st at Griak last year as a freshman. Bastyr is coming off a second place finish at the St. Olaf Invitational last week. The University of Minnesota-Duluth women are currently ranked 6th in the nation in Division II Cross Country. The squad will return in 2010 to defend their championship in the Griak Division II race. UMD is so deep that 4:24 1500 meter runner Michelle SanCartier is currently running as their fourth woman.

Simone Childs-Walker finished third behind two seniors at the 2009 Griak Invitational Division III race. Childs-Walker has not lost in 2010. The St. Thomas women finished seventh at the 2010 Griak meet and are currently ranked 28th in the nation. Hamline men placed eighth at last year's Griak and are ranked 24th in the 2010 National poll.

Gophersports.com has a lot of good information on the meet including: 2009 results ... Men's D1 Preview ... Women's D1 Preview ... Race Information.

Good luck!

The fantasy contest question from last week was: Will a Minnesota native win one or both of the Minnesota Mile elite races? The answer was no. Garrett Heath missed the win by a mere .3 seconds. Will Leer finished fifth and Heather Dorniden and Gabriele Anderson were third and fourth for the women. Lori Anne Peterson and Gregg Robertson extended their margins in first and second place with correct answers.

The Pick Ten standings are still tight. Mike Henderson is the leader with 82 points, followed closely by Jesse Schoen with 78 and Toby Hatlevig at 76 points.

For full standings of both contests, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner.