Spring Series recap

Qualifications

After Beta Theta Pi rode its men’s qualification lap in 2:21.05 — almost five seconds faster than the best 2011 qual time — at 8:50 a.m., 37 teams tried to go faster. They failed.

Beta Theta Pi’s time stood, and the team will be in the first position come race day. It’s the third time in the fraternity’s history that it has been the pole-sitter for the race. The defending champion Cutters squad finished five seconds behind Beta Theta Pi and qualified eighth.

Teter followed up a victory in the 2011 Little 500 with a victorious run in 2012 quals and will be in pole position for the first time since 2009. Teter’s time of 2:35.54 in 2009 is still the record, but this year’s time of 2:42.95 was good enough to win.

Individual Time Trials

With an Individual Time Trials victory in sight, Delta Tau Delta rider RJ Stuart nearly fell victim to the dangerous third turn, hitting the gutter, but he steadied himself and continued to win his first career ITT title.

His time of 2:18.65 is the fastest since former Cutters rider Eric Young’s 2:18.25 in 2009 and the second-fastest since 2007.

On the women’s side, Kappa Alpha Theta rider Kathleen Chelminiak improved her time by six seconds from her 2011 performance, finishing in 2:38.95. Teter’s Lisa Hutcheson came in second, ensuring that a Teter member finished in the top two for the third consecutive year.

Miss-N-Out

Chelminiak kept her winning ways, as she rebounded from her ITT victory to outlast the field in the Miss-N-Out competition. She led wire-to-wire, leaving Delta Gamma’s Kayce Doogs and Hutcheson behind her.

Chelminiak was the top seed, and she was joined in the top four by the other top-four seeds: Doogs, Hutcheson and Wing It’s Melissa Moeller.

The men’s final was filled with lower seeds, such as No. 17 Sigma Chi rider Adam Fish and No. 11 Sven Gartner from Phi Delta Theta, but the victor was No. 2-seed Steve Sharp.

Sharp stopped top-seeded Stuart from sweeping the individual events when he passed him on the final two turns of the last lap. It was Sharp’s second career victory in the event.

Team Pursuit

It was a day of repeats for the Team Pursuit, as both 2011 victors continued their success in the 2012 edition of the race.

The day was doubly repetitive for men’s winner Delta Tau Delta, as the team faced Phi Delta Theta early in the competition and in the finals. Though they lost to Phi Delta in the first meeting, the riders from Delta Tau Delta finished first in the finals, preserving their second win in as many years.

With its victory in the women’s race, Teter had its third consecutive Team Pursuit win, and claimed victory in the Spring Series. Both of the previous times they have won the Team Pursuit, the riders from Teter have also taken the championship on race day.