Butler woman claims hoops prize
In this case, Karen Ferrick is definitely her husband's better half.
The Butler resident tallied 124 points to finish first in the Butler Eagle's March Madness Contest and to claim the $500 grand prize.
Her husband, Glenn Ferrick, finished with 98 points, tied for 211th among the 1,615 entries.
"Believe me, I'm hearing about it,"Ferrick said of his wife's accuracy in predicting the outcome of NCAAbasketball tournament games. "My neighbor and I have been entering that contest for 10 years and 98 points is the best I've ever done.
"Karen's been doing it for about five years. She's pretty knowledgeable about basketball."
The Ferricks have been married for 23 years. Karen Ferrick said she developed her interest in sports through her husband.
Originally from western New York, Glenn Ferrick has two cousins — Joe Ehrmann with the Baltimore Colts, Jeff Yates with the Atlanta Falcons — who played in the NFL.
"I followed those guys in college football and my interest swung over to college basketball as well,"he said.
His wife credits her March Madness victory to "feminine instincts — with a little help from ESPN."
"Ibegan paying attention to what the commentators were saying,"she admitted."
Karen Ferrick correctly predicted all 16 teams in the Sweet 16 and picked the Final Four teams correctly as well.
She also proved correct in calling for Florida to defeat Ohio State in the championship game.
Jacob Stutz of Evans City finished second in the March Madness Contest with 120 points and receives $250.
Five others tied for third with 118 points and receive $20 each: Suzanne Robinson of Butler, Sherb Jamison of Emlenton, Jud Ihlenfeld of West Sunbury, Don Jackson of Karns City and Joey Markus of Saxonburg.
