Expectations for Underdogs

Men

“This year Kappa Sigma has an all-rookie team, so this is a rebuilding year. For this year’s race, we plan on competing at a high level with hopes of finishing near the top 10, but our main goal as a team is to use this year as a learning experience in order to better prepare ourselves to be a top contending team in next year’s race.”
Scott Moyer, Kappa Sigma

“Broken bones, cinder burns and eternal glory.” — Ted Tarricone, Team Amalgam

“We are looking to win Dixie Highway Award this year, awarded to the team that improves their quals position the most during the race. Last year, Acacia won the award and was able to finish an impressive fifth in the race after qualifying 30th. We have a strong ensemble of riders this year, and if we ride a smart race, Wright Cycling will have a good chance to impress some people come race day!” — Jack McMahon, Wright Cycling

“In this year’s race our team hopes to achieve a top-20 finish but above all establish a base for future teams to be built around. This is our house’s first time competing in four years, and we hope to ensure that we are a yearly participant and future contender in the race.” — Bryan Medema, Phi Kappa Tau

Women

“As a team made up entirely of new riders, we’re all incredibly excited for our first Little 500! We’ve been training hard since we first joined Alpha Delta Pi in January, and I’m astonished and proud at the progress this team has made. I’ve watched my teammates sweat, push themselves till they can barely breathe, fall off their bikes and instantly pick themselves back up to ride again. I can’t wait to see all of our hard work pay off at the track!”
— Kelsey McBarron, Alphie

“Being a team of all rookies, I think we just really want to get some experience racing the Little Five. We will definitely give it our all, but we have no expectation of winning. For us, it’s all about the journey and the experience.” — Paige Daumeyer, Anchors Away

“The SDT bike team is so excited to be riding in the race this year, and we’re really hoping to reach our goal of being in the top 20 for our end result when we finish the race. I think we all hope, as a team, that we can compete competitively in the race while having an amazing time together!” — Leila Gorstein, Sigma Delta Tau

“Basically, we want to improve from last year, and since we have more vets returning and have been working hard at the track, we are excited to see what will happen.” — Mary Hidde, Alpha Omicron Pi