Senior rider repeats runner-up finish in women's competition

For the second consecutive Little 500 series event, Kappa Alpha Theta senior Krissy Johnson finished second. But this time, Johnson fell to Gamma Phi Beta senior Deirdre Finzer, an IDS staffer, in Saturday's Miss-N-Out at Bill Armstrong stadium.\nAlpha Gamma Delta freshman rookie Corey Bitzer was third, followed by Johnson's teammate, senior Sara Coffman, Delta Zeta senior Lisa Braudis and Delta Gamma senior Lauren Naset rounded out the top five.\nFinzer, the only rider from Gamma Phi Beta at the track because of the house's parents weekend, finished fifth in individual time trials Wednesday but wound up first Saturday, beating out Johnson, who finished second in individual trials. Because of her lack of experience in the event, Finzer said she watched other riders closely to figure out a way to win.\n"I was watching the teams at the beginning to figure out some strategies to use," Finzer said. "The first couple of heats, I tried to hang up front, but I got tired. At the end, I just jumped off turn No. 4 and ran as hard as I could."\nFinzer said she didn't think she could catch Johnson but ended up beating her out by a wheel in a finished Finzer said she won "by an eyelash."\n"The last lap, I heard a lot of people screaming for Deirdre to go faster," Johnson said. "I just wanted to ride hard and reach the finish line."\nAfter two consecutive top-five finishes, Finzer said the expectations from last year's race continue to get higher with each event. \n"(Gamma Phi Beta) have been building off an initial base and have been training since the fall and even some in the summer," Finzer said. "Its starting to come together. It's exciting to see."\nMiss-N-Out is the first chance for riders to do competitive pack riding this season. Riders are arranged in heats with six to eight other riders based on their individual time trial times. Each lap, the rider finishing last is eliminated until two or three riders remain in the heat. Those riders move on from preliminaries to quarterfinals, then to semifinals and finally to the finals to determine the Miss-N-Out champion.\nAs a rookie, Bitzer said she feels Saturday's event will help her and other rookies prepare for the type of racing they will be faced with in the Little 500 April 20.\n"I think this helped me in the end," Bitzer said. "There were a couple of close calls, but overall it wasn't that bad."\nFinzer agreed, saying that building the experience is key to success.\n"You learn how people move in the pack," Finzer said. "This is great experience."\nPlacing two riders in the top five and four in the semifinals, Kappa Alpha Theta showed its strength and depth, holding onto the Little 500 series point standings. Coffman said their results are based on their difficult training.\n"Our goal is to train for the race," Coffman said. "We like to do well in the series events, but that's not our main goal."\nAlthough this is the second consecutive runner-up finish for Johnson, she said she isn't discouraged, just as long as her team places one spot higher come race day.\n"It's not the race, so second is OK for a series event." Johnson said. "Of course, it would be nice to get first, but it's just for the fun of it. Everyone wants to be first"