Roadrunners take second

Life without a superstar can be devastating. \nJust look at the 2002-2003 IU basketball team after Jared Jeffries left for the NBA. Or the 1994 Chicago Bulls after Michael Jordan retired. \nThe 2003 Roadrunners faced that same challenge this year after losing Jenn Wangerin, who left the team to pursue professional cycling.\nDeemed by many to have no shot at a three-peat, the two-time defending women's Little 500 champions decided to prove their critics wrong with a second-place finish.\n"We surprised a whole lot of people," senior Mary Craig said. "We blew a couple minds. And it feels good."\nThis year's team consisted of three second-year riders in Craig, juniors Jennifer Schalk and Sarah Fredrickson and a senior rookie Katie Zeller. This was the 11th team in the history of Roadrunners, and compared to last year, all four riders were strong.\nThe women qualified 11th for the race, and set their sights on a high finish. After serving a two-second penalty between laps eight and 12 for picking up their pit board late, the women were worried about the potential loss of time. But when they regained their ground, the Roadrunners felt they were in good shape.\nComing around the 100th lap, the women of the Roadrunners finished four seconds behind Kappa Alpha Theta with a time of 1:10:29. \nIn what was arguably the biggest surprise of the race, the Roadrunners proved they didn't need Wangerin. \n"With Jenn gone and a new coach, we had to show that the Roadrunners have a strong tradition and it's going to keep going," Craig said. "I'm proud to be a Roadrunner."\nKappa Kappa Gamma\nIn the bad luck of the race, Kappa Kappa Gamma fell victim to a crash that put it out of contention for the title. But Kappa displayed astonishing speed in an attempt to catch the pack and make up time. Throughout the race, a white jersey could be seen sprinting past the outside of the track passing one bike at a time, blowing by the competition in a fervent attempt to make up that lap.\n"If it would've been 150 laps, we would've been right back into it," senior Meg Haney said. "We were gaining. We had 29 laps to gain back up, and we needed 30."\nThe women of Kappa Kappa Gamma showed the effect the Little 500 could have on a team.\nTears were shed, and eyes were red during post-race festivities, but the women in white held their heads high, knowing that accidents, like the one Horner was involved in, are just part of the race.\n"I'm disappointed," junior Alison Edwards said. "But you get unlucky sometimes ... we did our best."\nTeter Women\nAll those besides Thetas went home without the traditional victory laps, but for some that was just fine.\nFor Teter Women -- juniors Bri Kovac, Katie Douglas, Shanda Ross and sophomore Maria Dragan -- a top-three finish was in sight. Two-year veteran Kovac, the only veteran on the squad, made it her business to get them there. After jumping out to a demanding lead after the first exchange, Kovac and her teammates hung in to finish fifth -- the highest-finishing residence hall team.\n"Our goal was top three," Kovac said. "We got top five, and with three rookies that's more than we can ask for"