Final Round Update:

 
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20 days ago each of us had aims of winning this contest. Some dreams lasted longer than others, but 646 of us will have to wait another year. Congratulations to Bryan Torres on winning our 20th annual PYO Challenge sponsored by Red Elm and North Star Marketing!  With 732 points, Bryan beat Pam O’Shaughnessey in the title game to win Two NCAA tickets to a Championship game.

The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Michigan Wolverines 79-62 to claim their second title in three years. The Wildcats won each of their NCAA Tournament games by 12 points for more. Villanova has the greatest four-year run in NCAA history, going 136-16 over that span with two national championships. No NCAA Division I program has ever won 136 games over  four-year stretch. The Wildcats won six tournament games by a combined 124 points, second-highest all-time since the tournament was expended to 64 teams in 1985. I’ll stop toadying.

PYO Challenge mission statement: “An annual, free March Madness contest connecting basketball fans with opportunities to ‘pour yourself out’ (Isaiah 58:10)."  We exceeded our goal and raised more than $1,373 toward the 58ten Education Fund to help children break their cycle of poverty. I can’t thank this community enough for your response to this need. I’m eager to see what God will do through this PYO Challenge in the decades to come.

Congratulations to Bill Boyes, Jim Dinnan, and Mark Frenette on finishing 2nd, 2nd, and 4th place respectively. Each of them have earned two full meals for four people delivered fresh from Hello Fresh.

We also have thirteen formidable contestants who finished in the Top 17 to merit $10 Amazon gift card: Chris Bond, Daren Dale, Anna Carr, Anil Khan, Kyle Goodwin, Ryan Willoughby, Shawn Lahar, Luke Kutrieb, Lauren Chapman, Rick Bayley, Rachel McConnell, Finnegan O'Shaughnessey, and Christina O'Shaughnessey.

I labor to keep my personal feelings and sentiments out of this PYO Challenge, but this backdrop is just too alluring.  I’ve received a few fitting “Congratulations AND Condolences!” over the past 24 hours.  My feelings are hard to describe as I sat with my mom and son (pregnant wife resting back at hotel with Sola) in the Alamodome as the confetti rained down and ‘One Shining Moment’ began to play.  Astonishment, euphoria for my Nova Nation, and heartbreak for my Wolverines.

I believe this was a once in a lifetime circumstance that warranted bringing the whole family along.  6ABC Philly interview (starts at 1:01)

Getting to Know the Leaders:

  1. Who is your favorite NCAA basketball team?
  2. Where were you born & where do you currently live?
  3. Family?
  4. What is your occupation? School or passion?
  5. Of all the people alive in the world today- who would you want to have lunch with and why?
  6. Advice you’d give to those contestants you’re beating? What was your strategy?

1st place- Bryan Torres

      Profiled in previous round (1st place in round 5)

t-2nd place - tied- Bill Boyes

  1. Villanova Wildcats

  2. Born in Brussels, Belgium. Currently live in Coatesville, PA.

  3. Wife - Barbara. Children - Ben, Bryan, Briana, & Brandon and 11 grandchildren.

  4. Retired Math teacher.  Passion is spending time with family and riding my motorcycle.  College- Houghton College. Masters at West Chester University. 

  5. Dr. Ben Carson -  he came out of poverty to become a world famous surgeon at John Hopkins.

  6. I used a combination of conference record,  RPI, personal favorite teams, as well as some blind luck.

t-2nd place- Jim Dinnan      

  1. Michigan Wolverines

  2. Born in Royal Oak, MI. Currently live in Romulus, MI.

  3. Wife Cheryl. Twin boys Mukai 21 and Toshi 19.  and an old dog named Amiga.

  4. Courier

  5. Anyone who will take me someplace nice and pay the bill.

  6. Pick the teams that upsets the 1st and 2nd round then chalk the rest of the way with the remaining teams. I was in the upper 500's after round 1 and ended tied for 2nd place. I think this is sound but the tournament has a way of destroying logic. 

4th place- Mark Frenette

  1. Villanova Wildcats

  2. Born in New England. Currently live in PA.

  3. Wife and baby on the way.

  4. Marketing

  5. John Bogle the founder of Vanguard. John Bogle invented the widely popular concept of an index fund which is a relatively easy and cost effective approach to investing that eliminates the need for a personalized investment broker. I would ask what sparked that idea to begin with and what he would invest in today.

  6. My picks were selected at random with the context of knowing a few of the good teams.

5th place- Chris Bond

  1. University of Michigan Wolverines! Go Blue!!

  2. Born in Clare, MI. Currently live in Midland, Michigan

  3. Wife Kristin of nearly 21 years. 13 year old twins Sydney (girl) and Nicholas, and 10 year old son Owen.

  4. Mechanical Engineer from UofM, currently a facility manager for Dow Chemical.

  5. Sean Connery, I would like to hear about his life, and have always been a big James Bond fan!

  6. Watch a ton of basketball every night starting in December, and pay attention to how they improve and play on big stages. Go with your gut after watching a bunch of hoops over the last few months.