Friday, June 03, 2011

Yes/No: Leer Over Blankenship at Prefontaine?

The 2011 Samsung Diamond League makes it's first stop in the United States this weekend. The Diamond League is a series of the most prestigious track meets in the world and this week it lands in Track Town, USA for the celebrated Prefontaine Classic.

13.1 Mpls

Two of Minnesota's own will battle in the mile at the Pre meet this weekend. Ben Blankenship and Will Leer will be relegated to the "B" section of the mile race, a.k.a. the International Mile. If you're wondering how 3:37/3:39 1500 meter runners could be excluded from the fast heat, look no further than the ten sub-3:50 miler (metric equivalent included) that will be toeing the line!

The International Mile start list includes Aussie Ryan Gregson, who has run a 3:31 1500, and Kenyans Gideon Gathimba and Alfred Kirwa Yego who both have sub-3:51 mile credentials.

But we will take a Minnesotan angle with our question...

Yes/No: Will William Leer finish ahead of Ben Blankenship in the International Mile at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday?

Will Leer, a Minnetonka High School grad, has been a picture of consistency over the years. He has run 3:37 as a best time in the 1500 in each of the last four years. While Leer has been a mainstay on the middle-distance national track scene for the last 4 years, Blankenship has been running for the Gophers. Blankenship, a Stillwater High School alumnus, is coming off a big victory in the Stanford Payton Jordan Invite in May. At that event, he ran a personal best 3:39.49. This race may have marked Blankenship's arrival in the upper echelon of American 1500 runners, considering he took down top pros Lopez Lomong, Andrew Bumbalough, and Evan Jager.

To play our game, simply type "yes" or "no" into the subject line of an e-mail and send it to us at DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com before 12:15 P.M. CDT, Saturday, June 4th. Please put your answers in the subject line of the e-mail and make sure your full name appears somewhere in the e-mail. We will offer our usual bonus for participants making their 2011 debut in Yes/No - a correct answer will be worth two points for anyone who has not played yet this year.

My answer: Yes.

Last week's question was: Will Lauren Stelten win the NCAA Division II women's pole vault title on Friday? The answer was yes. Stelten won another national championship, vaulting 13-0 1/4. Twenty-three contestants answered correctly last week. Rachel Karel is now the sole leader with thirteen points. There are four contestants in second place with twelve points -- including Chris Rivers who has answered correctly every time he has contested Yes/No this year! Five people scored a perfect four points in May. These are the winners for the last month: Chris Rivers, Jake Marotz, Daniel Gerber, Lori Anne Peterson, and Dan Vogel.

For all the results, please visit DtB Fantasy Corner, HERE.

1 comment:

Kirk said...

Nice run by Ben!!!