Roadrunners repeat top finish in women's race

Jenn Wangerin did it again. \nLast year, the junior took the Roadrunners' final exchange and led her team to victory. This year was no different. With 20 laps to go, Wangerin took the bike and kept near the front of the pack.\nAs the one-hundredth and final lap opened, Wangerin had a small advantage over second-place Kappa Kappa Gamma. Midway through that lap, Wangerin made her move, sprinting for a nearly four-bike-length lead and the 15th women's Little 500 race title. \n"I don't believe this, this is amazing," Wangerin said immediately after the race. "We couldn't have visualized a better race. It went exactly how we wanted it to go. Last year I was a rookie and I didn't know much about Little 5. It was awesome to win, but this year the race is infinitely more important to me. I know a lot more about Little 5. I wanted this race so much more than anyone else out there. I'm sure of it."\nAn early crash assured three of the most prolific teams in race history would have the opportunity to add to their legacy. After a wreck in the eighth lap that took out fourth place qualifier Phi Mu, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta and Roadrunners took the lead. Those three teams had combined to win each of the previous eight races, with the Kappas and Thetas each taking three. The teams stayed in the front of the pack for much of the duration of the race. \nBy the time the final lap came, Kappa Alpha Theta had fallen back and the title came down to Kappa Kappa Gamma or Roadrunners. Wangerin led by less than a bike length at the onset of the final lap before she sprinted for the lead midway through. The team won with a 1:09.58 time, one second ahead of Kappa. \nLast year, Roadrunners took the pole and won the race behind a trio of veteran riders and then-rookie Wangerin. This year, Wangerin was the only veteran on a team that qualified in eighth and was joined by three first year riders in teammates freshman Sarah Fredrickson, sophomore Emily Baltes and junior Mary Craig.\n"Jenn's amazing," IUSF assistant director and Little 500 coordinator Alex Ihnen said. "I think the question people had was whether she could do it by herself. I think her teammates helped her when they had to. She couldn't have done it by herself, but when she was on the track, she took care of business. She was out there almost showing off. It wasn't all that close."\nAfter qualifying first and displaying dominant performances during the Little 500 series, Kappa Kappa Gamma was still pleased with their second place finish and the teamwork it took to achieve. \n"We're very pleased with our performance," sophomore Kappa Kappa Gamma rider Alison Edwards said. "We know all around we're still the best team out there. It's a team thing and we love this race. We didn't do it with one person, we did it with everyone we had. It was all teamwork."\nCaptain Meg Haney said no one matched Kappa's teamwork.\n"One person can't win the race and Little 500 was a team event," Haney said. "We knew we were the strongest team out there." \nKappa Alpha Theta, who won the race in 2000 and were runners up last year, finished in third, 36 seconds behind Kappa. Senior Theta rider, Krissy Johnson said a top-three finish provided a positive finale for her collegiate cycling career. \n"It's a good way to cap it off," Johnson said. "I'm a fifth-year senior, so this was my last hurrah. It was great. We went out looking to ride hard and leave our hearts on the track. We did. I think we had a great race." \nIn taking the checkered flag for her team, Wangerin became the third rider to cross the finish line first in consecutive years. Already, she has hopes of becoming the first to do so three races in a row.\n"I'm definitely looking forward," Wangerin said. "We're excited to go after a third win next year"