You’ll forgive us for not congratulating the winner of the 2009 DCist Reader-Staff NCAA Bracketfest contest in a more timely manner, but we’ve been a little busy licking our wounds. There’s just no way to spin the fact that our readers delivered an embarrassing rout of the DCist staff in the standings: the best showing on our end was by Weekend Editor Kriston Capps, who came in a meager 29th overall.

So, it’s with sincere humility that we offer up all due high-fives, props and acknowledgment to first prize winner Emily Ethridge. Emily correctly picked North Carolina as the national champion, and also had three out of four of the Final Four teams. In a tournament that saw a lot of surprises and upsets, Emily’s commanding 310 total points are undeniably impressive. Nicely done, Emily. Kindly shoot an email to sommer(at)dcist.com to claim your prize: a custom DCist T-shirt!

Travis Behan also deserves a mention for his 303-point, second place finish, and Talal Mir came in a respectable third with 293 points. Good on ya, guys.

We’d also like to acknowledge the last place finisher, with only 82 points, reader Jennifer Brown. Jennifer’s last correct pick was the single team she had in the Elite Eight, a colossal failure that in and of itself is kind of awe inspiring. Jennifer, there’s a DCist button, sticker and temporary tattoo pack waiting for you. Just get in touch and let us know how to reach you.

Until next year, we thank you all for joining us again in the DCist Reader-Staff NCAA Bracketfest! Take my 234th place finish and shove it!