Pick 10: Big Ten and MIAC Cross Country

This is a big weekend for collegiate cross country meets. The Gophers are off to Illinois to run in the Big Ten Championships on Sunday. But first, right here at Como Golf Course, the MIAC Championship will be held on Saturday afternoon. There are many good angles in both of these meets and we will concentrate on ten of them with our Pick Ten contest.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes or teams at the Big Ten and MIAC Meet. You will score points for each athlete/team that 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 Hassan Mead to place first in the Big Ten men's race, and he places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Mead to place first and he finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Mead to finish third in the race and he places first, second or third, you get 8 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 2:15 P.M. CST on Saturday, October 29th to DtBFantasy [AT] gmail [DOT] com. Make sure your full name is in the e-mail. 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.

We'll announce the winner of this week's contest and compile results of all of the year's Pick Ten contests to name a grand champion for 2011.

Pick 10 ... Big Ten/MIAC Meet:

Hassan Mead - University of Minnesota, Big Ten Meet:
Stephanie Price - University of Minnesota, Big Ten Meet:
University of Minnesota Gophers Team, Men's Big Ten Meet:
University of Minnesota Gophers Team, Women's Big Ten Meet:
Macalester Women, MIAC Meet:
Hamline Women, MIAC Meet:
Alison Smyth - Carleton, MIAC Meet:
Gustavus Men, MIAC Meet:
Brian Saksa - St. Olaf, MIAC Meet:
Jack Diechart - Hamline, MIAC Meet:

To Help You Make Your Picks ...

Hassan Mead did not compete in cross country last year, but has won two Big Ten cross country titles in his career. Mead is a six-time All American and has finished in the top five in all the meets this year. Stephanie Price finished second at Big Tens in 2010. Price was an cross country All American in 2010 and has been named the Big Ten Runner of the Week three times in 2011.

The Gophers finished third last year at the Big Ten Championships for both the men and the women. The Gopher men are currently ranked twelfth in the nation. Other ranked teams in the race include #2 Wisconsin, #7 Indiana and #21 Michigan. On the women's side, the Gophers are not ranked, but there are four Big Ten teams in the top thirty in the nation.

Results from the 2010 MIAC meet show Macalester women in ninth, Hamline women in seventh and Gustavus men in eighth. On the individual side, Alison Smyth was eighth, Jack Deichert was fourth and Brian Saksa finished thirty-fifth as a freshman.

Here are some conference meet previews for additional information:
Gopher Men
Gopher Women
MIAC Men
MIAC Women

Good luck!

Last week's Yes/No question was: Will Minnesota State - Mankato men's team finish in the top two at the NSIC Championship on Saturday? The answer was yes. Augustana won the team title at NSIC followed by Mankato and UMD. Thirty-two contestants answered correctly this week. Mike Henderson and Rachel Karel are tied for first with twenty-five points.

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