Crash crushes Delta Chi

About 20 minutes before Saturday's men's Little 500 race began, Delta Chi rider Jason Sonneborn plopped to his back, sprawled out in the infield grass at Bill Armstrong Stadium and look skyward, preparing for his final Little 500. \n"If we don't win, it'll be a disappointment," said Sonneborn, a senior. \nTwo hours later, it looked as if Delta Chi's finish wouldn't disappoint Sonneborn. The team was right where it wanted to be -- among the top five with less than 30 laps left and junior Mark Bagwell closing in on Teter, the race leader. \nThen, chaos and a loss of balance dashed Sonneborn's dream and ignited disappointment as Bagwell tangled with a Chi Phi rider out of Turn 2 and tumbled to the ground.\nMost people in the Delta Chi pit said they didn't see the wreck. Gasps from the crowd and frantic yelling from coach Steve Hoeferle sent Sonneborn sprinting across the track in an attempt to save the day. \nSonneborn made it about 20 yards into the infield before Bagwell hurried to his feet and mounted his bike. But by then, Delta Chi trailed the lead pack by nearly a lap, and blood and black marks covered Bagwell's face, legs and arms. \nSonneborn took over for Bagwell, but the gap was too big. Delta Chi, which boasts a race history of eight championships, wouldn't win this time. Instead, Phi Delta Theta, a spring break training partner, which pitted next door to Delta Chi, overtook Teter to win the 2001 title, leaving Delta Chi with a fifth-place finish.\nAfter the race, Bagwell didn't feel like talking, but his emotions and actions did so for him. The junior fired his helmet and sunglasses to the ground after the wreck, rested his hands on his head and fought back tears. It didn't work. \n"He feels horrible," Delta Chi coach Todd Hancock said of Bagwell. "(Bagwell) feels like he let the team and the fraternity down, but he didn't. Wrecks are just part of racing."\nBagwell's teammates said they understood. \n"We can't say 'could've, should've and would've' and moan and whine," sophomore rookie Pat Thomas said. "Wrecks happen."\nAnd they did in this race. Three accidents in the first 10 laps leveled several teams, but Delta Chi was able to escape the pileups. Sonneborn fell a few laps later, but Bagwell rode the next 11 laps and lifted Delta Chi to second place. From that point, the team didn't leave the top five. \nAs the team rested Sonneborn in hopes of saving his strength for the final stretch, Bagwell closed gaps time and time again. His biggest effort came just laps before he wrecked, as he erased a 12-second Teter lead in three laps. But the wrecked doomed Delta Chi's day.\n"It sucks." sophomore rookie Justin Hiday said. "I wish we could've seen what would have happened it we'd have stayed in the race."\nBut Delta Chi didn't get that chance, and Sonneborn's Little 500 career drew to a close. Sonneborn, the team's leader and spokesman, perched himself atop his bicycle for one last lap around the track and finished the race for Delta Chi. Sonneborn crossed the finish line and tossed his bike to the ground, his face showing no expression.\nBut instead of bitterness or disappointment, Sonneborn expressed appreciation and applause to fellow riders and race officials.\n"Hats off to Phi Delta Theta and Teter," he said. "I really wanted to win this event, but a lot of people that leave here today aren't winners."\nDelta Chi wasn't; but in some it ways, it was. \nBagwell, still scraped, bruised and battered, grabbed his gear and walked to a group of supporters in the team's pit near Turn 1. Thomas and Hiday received congratulations from Bagwell's parents. Sonneborn, as he had done three hours earlier, plopped to the infield grass to reflect. After a few pats on the back and hand shakes from competitors and fans, he grabbed his bag and his bike and pedaled his way through the sparse crowd remaining in the infield and headed toward the exit for what he called a "chill ride." \nIt wasn't a picture-perfect ride into the sunset, and it probably didn't do justice to Delta Chi's efforts, but it's how things worked out, and Sonneborn understood.\n"I haven't felt better all season," he said. "But that's bike racing. It's an honor to ride for my house and for the people that run this event"