Riders fill out brackets in event not to be 'missed'

With the NCAA tournament and March winding down, many sports fans are starting to miss competitive sports brackets, but Saturday's Little 500 event should fill that void for a short time. \nThe second of three Little 500 Spring Series Events, Miss-N-Out will be held at 2 p.m. at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The event is described as the most exciting of the series for spectators and riders alike, but it also may be considered the toughest and most grueling for riders to endure as it's carried out in bracket style. \n"You really have to try to conserve your energy," senior Dodds House rider Craig Luekens said. "You don't want to blow yourself out at the beginning."\nMiss-N-Out tests rider's abilities in pack riding and race strategy as six to eight riders are placed in heats according to Wednesday night's Individual Time Trial results. Riders are eliminated from heats if they are the last to cross the start/finish line in their respective heat. Riders advance from preliminaries to quarterfinals to semifinals to the final.\nLuekens, who placed second last year at Miss-N-Out and third in this year's ITTs, he should have a good position to do well in the event. \n"I'm going to ride smart, stay up front and try to give myself a chance to win in the end," he said. "There are a lot of fast guys especially with the way Hans (Arnesen) and (Matt) Davis are riding right now; it's shaping up to be an exciting day."\nThe excitement should be heightened with the amount of talent in this year's pool of riders. After Alpha Tau Omega rider junior Hans Arnesen broke the all-time track record Wednesday with a time of 2:15.78 and senior Phi Gamma Delta rider Matt Davis behind him with a time of 2:17.86 the competition should be fierce -- but that doesn't mean riders don't have fun. \nSenior Tim Smith of Briscoe said the event is his favorite to compete in. \n"It's definitely the most fun event to be in," Smith said. "You really get to see a lot of the other riders and get to compete with them directly, which is different than the other series events."\nAnother rider in last year's Miss-N-Out final was senior Chas Pall of pole sitter Phi Kappa Psi. \nPall, Luekens and Arnesen made up the final six riders of Miss-N-Out with senior Team Major Taylor rider Simeon Commissiong and graduated riders Tom Meersman from ATO and Cutters rider Chris Vargo. Commissiong took first place, Luekens finished second and Meersman third. \nAlthough Pall said lots of luck was involved in his Miss-N-Out run last year he also added that it's also a head to head game that forces a rider to be aware at all times. \n"It's more of a chess game than anything," Pall said. "You have to set yourself up to do well or if not you'll miss out."\n-- Contact Senior Writer Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.