Kym Opfermann's boyfriend discouraged her from relying too heavily on alternative-energy stocks when they compiled separate entries in The Blade's Stock Market Game.

But on March 31, the 24-year-old commercial insurance agent took over first place in the yearlong contest, largely on the strength of alternative-energy stocks. Her hypothetical $40,000 portfolio has shot up 48 percent since Jan. 1 to $59,279.

As the contest finished its third month, 60 percent of nearly 900 contestants were in the black, said Shane Ewbank, a financial adviser in the Toledo office of brokerage Smith Barney, a contest co-sponsor and tabulator of results.

Under contest rules, each entrant was required to divide an imaginary $40,000 evenly among four stocks trading for at least $5 a share; entries were due Dec. 31.

The winner will be the portfolio with the biggest gains by the end of this year. First place receives $100 and a trip for two to Chicago, Toronto, or Tampa. Second place gets $300; third place, $100.

Many of their portfolios include solar panel producer First Solar Inc., an Arizona company with significant Toledo operations; Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Trina Solar Ltd.

The new leader's portfolio includes both First Solar, up 74 percent since Jan. 1 and 15 percent in March alone, and Trina, up 133 percent since the start of the year.

Ms. Opfermann, of Point Place, displaced previous leader Rex Crist, a stock trader in Adrian. His ascent was fueled largely by Onyx, which is testing a drug that shows promise for treating liver cancer. That stock has shot up 134 percent in 2007, but fell 14 percent last month.

Like the stock market overall, the decline of the subprime mortgage market has had a major impact on The Blade contest, said Mr. Ewbank, of Smith Barney.

Among three "challenge" portfolios that are not eligible for prizes, Bill Harris, a financial planner in Sylvania Township, retains the top spot. His picks are up 6 percent to $42,401. The Blade's dartboard picks, chosen at random, are down 18 percent to $33,002.

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