LRT NCAA Pool champions


It's been a while since I made a complete historical list of the Living Room Times pool champions through the years, so I figured it was a time for an update. Points are out of a maximum possible 477.

1996 men's (17 contestants) - Lou Ruggiero, Newington High School teacher (354 points)

1997 men's (24) - Liz Acey, NHS sophomore (313)
1997 women's (10) - Brendan Loy, NHS sophomore (358)

1998 men's (40) - Shaun Sullivan, NHS junior (308)
1998 women's (17) - Claudio Gualtieri, NHS junior (347)

1999 men's (61) - Nathan Emerson, NHS senior (321)
1999 women's (33) - Jason Rose, NHS senior (372)

2000 men's (20) - Matt Thomsen, NHS '99 / U. of New Haven freshman (276)

2001 men's (19) - Jenn Castelhano, NHS '99 / UConn sophomore (334)
2001 women's (12) - Todd Stigliano, NHS '99 / Providence sophomore (320)

2002 men's (46) - Tom Greca, NHS '99 / Central Conn. St. junior (303)
2002 women's (36) - Jenn Castelhano, NHS '99 / UConn junior (409)

2003 men's (43) - Justin Vale, Rockville High School freshman (352)
2003 women's
(40) - Rick Boeckler, Silver Spring, MD / Fordham & Maryland alum (421)

2004 men's (76) - Matt Kagan, NHS '99 / Southern New Hampshire U. alum (334)
2004 women's
(62) - Matt Kagan, Danny Pilz and Conor Sullivan (tied at 359)

2005 men's (135) - Brian Kiolbasa, Arizona State alum / Notre Dame 1L (362)
2005 women's
(68) - Todd Stigliano, NHS '99 / Providence alum (368)

2006 men's (218) - Mike Tran, UCLA alum / Notre Dame 2L (356)
2006 women's (88) - Rick Boeckler, Silver Spring, MD / Fordham & Maryland alum (370)

2007 men's (263) - Arash Markazi, USC alum / SI writer (409)
2007 women's (104) - Scott Fort, Birmingham, AL / UAB alum (347)

2008 men's (245) - Alex Whitfield, Brooklyn, NY / Duke alum (392)
2008 women's (91) - Jeff Freeze, Portage, IN / Indiana, MSU & ND alum (381)

2009 men's (199) - TBD (Mike Wiser or Jason Strutz)
2009 women's (89) - Michael Holtsberg, Broomall, PA / U. Penn alum
 
Note the double champions: Todd Stigliano, 2001 women's & 2005 men's; Jenn Castelhano, 2001 men's and 2002 women's; Matt Kagan, 2004 men's and 2004 women's; and Rick Boeckler, 2003 women's and 2006 women's.

Also note the all-time point-total records: Rick Boeckler (421 points in the 2003 women's pool) and Arash Markazi (409 in the 2007 men's pool).

The largest margin of victory ever is a tie between Justin Vale (2003 men's) and Mike Tran (2006 men's) at 47 points. Tran's 2006 bracket, which was noted by SI, holds the record for largest margin over the pool median, 148 points.