Pick Ten: NCAA Indoor Championships

National Meet weekend has arrived for the collegiate ranks.  The action starts on Thursday for NCAA DII athletes, with the Weight Throw competitions kicking off the events in Birmingham, Alabama.  NCAA DI and DIII Indoor Track and Field Championships will follow on Friday and Saturday, in Fayetteville, Arkansas (hosted by the University of Arkansas) and Naperville, Illinois, respectively.

For the third straight week, we will use the Pick Ten contest to break down the Indoor Championship meets.

Pick Ten has a simple concept: predict the finish place for each of 10 Minnesota athletes at the NCAA Indoor Championships. 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 Becky Culp to place first in the shot put, and she places first, you get 10 points. If you pick Culp to place first and she finishes second, you get zero points. If you pick Culp to finish third in the event 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 6:25 P.M. CST on Friday, March 8th 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 ... NCAA Indoor Championships:

University of Minnesota Men - Distance Medley Relay (DI):
Micah Hegerle, University of Minnesota - Weight Throw (DI):
Jon Lehman, University of Minnesota - Weight Throw (DI):
University of Minnesota Men - 4 x 400 Meter Relay (DI):
Derek Bredy, MSU-Moorhead - 200 Meters (DII):
Jerrell Hancock, Minnesota State,Mankato -200 Meters (DII):
Christopher Reed, Minnesota State, Mankato - Shot Put (DII):
Becky Culp, Hamline - Shot Put (DIII):
Taylor Berg, St. Thomas - 5000 Meters (DIII):
University of St. Thomas Women - 4 x  400 Meter Relay (DIII):

Here is some information to help you with your picks:

Your one-stop shop for all the National Meet information is at the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Championships Central.  Here you will find entries, start lists, schedules, live results, history and more.

Straight from the heat sheets, here are your rankings for the athletes and teams in the Pick Ten:  Gopher DMR is 5th and Micah Hegerle - 6th and Jon Lehman 7th in the Weight Throw.  The Gopher 4x400 relay is ranked 6th.

In Division II, Derek Bredy and Jerrell Hancock are ranked 1st and 2nd in the 200 meters.  Hancock's teammate, Christopher Reed is ranked 3rd in the Shot Put.

Hamline's Becky Culp is ranked 5th in the Shot Put for Division III athletes.  Taylor Berg is 6th among 5000 meter athletes and her teammates at St. Thomas are in the 2nd slot in the 4x400 meter relay.

Good luck!

Last week's Pick Ten contest on the MIAC/USA Indoor Champs was won by Mike Henderson with 57 points followed by Dan Vogel with 54.  After two Pick Ten contests, the overall leaders are Jake Marotz and Mike Henderson tied with 78.  Over at the Yes/No contest, there are three tied for the lead with five points:  Dylan Dragswiek, Lori Anne Schwiesow and Dimitri Drekonja.

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