Pick Ten: Big Ten Indoor Championships

The University of Minnesota Gophers will travel to Geneva, Ohio, for the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday.  The men will be vying for the team title again this year, having placed second to Indiana University by four points last year.  The women's squad had a disappointing 2012 Big Ten Indoor Meet, finishing last with eleven points, but are positioned to finish higher this year.

With all the great athletes competing at this meet, we decided to choose ten of them and attempt to pick final places at the meet.  With this, we will hold the first Pick Ten contest of 2013.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes at the Big Ten Indoor Championship. You will score points for each athlete who 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 Todea-Kay Willis to place first in the long jump, and she places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Willis to place first and she finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Willis to finish third in the race and she places first, second or third, you get 6 points by the scoring system above, since she placed at least as high as you predicted.

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...8th. Send your predictions by 11:30 A.M. CST on Friday, February 22nd 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 2013.

Pick 10 ... Big Ten Indoor Chmpionship:

University of Minnesota Women (Team):
Alena Brooks (600 OR 800 Meters):
Todea-Kay Willis (Long Jump):
Cami Gilson (Pole Vault):
Kylie Peterson (60 Meter Dash):
University of Minnesota Men (Team):
Jon Lehman (Weight Throw)
Sean King (60 Meter Dash)
Oladipo Fagbemi (Triple Jump)
Harun Abda (600 OR 800 Meters)

For Harun Abda and Alena Brooks, it is very unlikely that either will run the 600 and the 800, so you will be picking the place of whichever race they decide to run.  If they do happen to run both, we will take the higher place as their official place.

Here is some information to help you with your picks:

The Big Ten Performance Lists are HERE.  The rankings below are based on the performance lists, not on heat sheets.

Alena Brooks is currently ranked second in the 600 and third in the 800 in the Big Ten.  Todea-Kay Willis has the second best long jump in the Big Ten in 2013.  Cami Gilson is eighth on the list of female pole vaulters  and Kylie Peterson is tied for fifth in the 60 meter dash.

On the men's side, Jon Lehman is ranked third in the weight throw.  Sean King is currently first in the 60 meter dash.  Oladipo Fagbemi is fifth among Big Ten triple jumpers.  Harun Abda is second in the 800 and unranked in the 600.

Here are some additional links:
- 2013 Live Results - Big Ten Championships
- Division I Team Rankings
- Big Ten Championship Site
- 2012 Big Ten Indoor Results

Good luck!

Last week's Yes/No question was:  Will Garrett Heath finish in the top five at the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games on Saturday?  The answer was no.  Heath ran a very solid 3:55.55 for seventh.  It was a tough question this week as only five players answered correctly.  Fourteen contestants answered correctly this week including the three tied for the lead:  Dylan Dragswiek, Lori Anne Schwiesow, and Dimitri Drekonja.

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