Bill Rodgers once said, “If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.” This upcoming week, many athletes will be hoping to unleash their crazy side at the DII Indoor Track and Field National Championships taking place at the University of Houston. In the spirit of March “madness,” I am going to pick my favorites for some of the individual running events. I want you to pick yours too and to fill me in on the other events.

60 meter dash
Women- St. Augustine’s Barbara Pierre is back hoping to defend to her indoor title but she comes in with the third fastest seed time (7.41). Lincoln’s freshman, Samoy Hackett (7.30) and Abilene Christian’s Wanda Hutson (7.38) come in with faster seed times. My pick is the defending champion Pierre.
Men- St. Augustine’s Dennis Boone comes in with the fastest seed time (6.69), followed by Concordia’s Bacon Kawaskii (6.72) and teammate Simon Gittens (6.73). I will go with Boone, since he has had a very good season so far.

200 meter
Women- Nebraska-Omaha’s Pinar Saka comes in with the fastest seed time of 24.23, followed by St. Augustine’s Angelique Smith (24.55) and Samoy Hackett (24.56). Saka has been running well week after week and she is my pick.  
Men- Defending champion Fort Hays State’s Bryan Haynes is back, but has the ninth fastest seed time (21.78). Morehouse’s Damien Prince (21.59), Tiffin’s Anthony Thomas (21.65), and St. Augustine’s Josh Scott (21.66) come in with the top three seed times. My pick is Prince.

400 meter
Women- Saka comes in with a seed time that is nearly two second faster (53.34) than Adams State’s Michele Williams (55.31) and Abilene Christian’s Kim Prather (55.96) and that makes her my pick.
Men-Defending Champions J.C. Smith’s Leford Green is back with the sixth fastest seed time (47.89).  Lincoln’s Dane Hyatt (47.25), Morehouse’s Damian Prince (47.25), and the UMass Lowell duo of Doug Caves (47.64) and Donte Brown (47.65) come in with the top four seed times.  Last year’s race was won with a 47.79.  I pick Green to repeat.

800 meter
Women- 2007 indoor and outdoor Champion, Pittsburg State’s Venessa Lee is back with the fifth fastest seed time (2:11.02). Nebraska-Omaha’s Anja Puc (2:09.74), Northwest Nazarene’s Ashley Puga (2:10.16), and Grand Valley’s Katherine McCarthy ( 2:10.60) come in with three fastest seed times. I pick Lee for the win.

Men-Last year’s champion, Nick Lara has graduated, but last year’s runner-up, Minnesota State-Mankato’s Denise Mokaya (1:51.02) and third place finisher, Metro State’s Anthony Luna (1:51.13) are back. My pick is Mokaya.

Mile
Women- Seattle Pacific’s Jessica Pixler is back with the fastest seed time (4:38.83). Wisconsin- Parkside’s Jessica Monson follows with a (4:47.54) and Seattle Pacific’s Jane Larson is third with (4:48.39).  I pick the heavy favorite, Jessica Pixler, for the win.
Men- The 2008 Champion, Harding’s Daniel Kirwa is back with the third fastest seed time (4:06.16), but in front of him is the Adams State’s duo of Aaron Braun (4:03.85) and Brian Medigovich (4:05.76).  My pick is with the 2008 outdoor Champion, Aaron Braun.

5k
Women- Jessica Pixler is looking for the double win, and comes in with the fastest seed time of 16:15.15. She is well ahead of the second place seed time posted by Slippery Rock’s Jennifer Harpp (16:41.91). If this is anything like Cross Country Nationals, Pixler should dominate.
Men- The 5k should parallel the drama of the men’s mile with the Adam’s State due of Medigovich (13:53.69) and Braun (13:55.40) competing for the win, while also trying to hold off fourth seed (and fellow miler) Harding’s Daniel Kirwa (14:13.88) UMass Lowell’s Ruben Sanca is seeded third with a 14:07.26. and might be the dark horse in this race. My pick is Sanca.

Hurdles
Women- The defending Champion J.C. Smith’s Shermaine Williams (8.27) is looking to defend her title, and is the top seed.  Grand Valley’s Candice Wheat (8.37) and Findlay’s Raven Clay (8.38) round out the top three qualifiers. My pick is Williams.
Men- Abilene Christian’s Andrew McDowell is the only athlete to have run under 8.00 so far this season with his 7.95. He is followed by Pittsburg State’s Jeremy Jackson (8.01) and Chadron State’s Ackeem Smith (8.01). I pick McDowell for the title. 

Just to add..So I am going to be off on a Mission trip next week and I think this will be a good chance to do something a little different. So much like picking brackets, I propose a contest. You will get one point for every correct pick in the DMR, 5k, hurdles, 200 meters and the 800 meters in both the men's and women's races. The tie-breaker will be predict the top three finishers in the team title race. If you are the person with the most points, I will send you something running related. So leave comment with your picks, the last day for your picks will be Friday.