Underdogs look to take a bite out of the competition

On the weekend of April 16, 2011, all eyes were on the track of Bill Armstrong Stadium for the annual running of the Little 500.  

This past year, those eyes included the likes of Lambda Chi Alpha rider Tom Bolling and Alpha Epsilon Pi rider Robert Langer. Instead of being on the famed track on race day, the two painstakingly watched from the stands, both having failed to qualify for the race.

There were also people such as then-freshman Courtney Roessler, who watched the race from Buffalo Wild Wings with dreams of participating in the event one day, and former Teter rider Dana VanderGenugten, who watched the race at Bill Armstrong Stadium as a fan, not on the track as a biker as she had been only a year prior.

Now, with only days to go until this year’s Little 500, all four will be watching the race again — this time, though, from the track in their team’s respective pit, with a guarantee that they will get to participate in the main event of the world’s greatest
college weekend.

The long journey back for Bolling and the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity began March 26, 2011, the day of the Little 500 Qualifications.

That day, Lambda Chi finished its attempt with a time of 2:40.31. Little did the riders know that had they finished 0.09 seconds faster, they would have been in the 61st Little 500 and not in 35th place and out of the running.

“Not qualifying for the Little 500 was certainly a learning experience,” Bolling said. “We believe our team was better than our performance at quals last year, so that was certainly disappointing, but our team has responded with a refreshed, motivated
attitude.”

It was that discontent that drove the Lambda Chi Alpha team to work harder and become better organized. When the riders took the track at Bill Armstrong Stadium for the 2012 quals, their result left no doubt on if they would be in the race.

Lambda Chi Alpha finished in 11th place, its highest in more than 12 years, with a time of 2:26.77, securing a spot in this year’s Little 500.

“The Little 500 is an experience our riders and brotherhood will remember for the rest of their lives,” Bolling said. “It will be a great day for Lambda Chi Alpha, and we hope to make the most of it by performing our best in the race."

Alpha Epsilon Pi has been in 35 Little 500 races, has had nine top-10 finishes and has had one Little 500 title.

All of that history, however, came to an abrupt end Jan. 23, 2008, when IU banned the fraternity for two years for a hazing violation. Four years later, AEPi is back. After failing to qualify for last year’s Little 500, the team finished 19th in this year’s quals, securing its spot after a four-year wait.

“It is very important to (Alpha Epsilon Pi) that we are in the race,” Langer said. “It was a very big tradition of our fraternity to race in the Little 500 and a great source of pride to already reestablishing a tradition of excellence in racing.”

In fact, Saturday’s race will be a culmination of a long journey for Langer. He is a senior who will be riding in his first Little 500, after his father and uncle rode for the same fraternity in the 1970s. For many members and alumni of AEPi, hearing their name called Saturday will mark the end of a long and painful gap.

“Hearing our name April 21, for me, will be a culmination of a dream I had coming into IU my freshmen year of something I wanted to achieve,” Langer said. “But most importantly, it will really be a comeback for AEPi on the Bloomington campus and to hopefully build on our success every year, making us a top-tier team.”

When Roessler came to IU in fall 2010 to be a member of the school’s swimming and diving team, she never imagined she would be preparing for her first Little 500, only days away.

The same can be said for her teammates of Theta Phi Alpha, a first-year sorority that will be competing in its first Little 500 on April 20. Coming from all different backgrounds, the Theta Phi bike team members, much like the entire sorority, have bonded together as their team nears its first race.

“The support from my sisters is none other,” Roessler said. “I have always swam and been a part of teams, and we’ve had fans and supporters, but nothing like the support I’ve gotten from the girls. They’ve come to every event and even practice sometimes to cheer us on. It’s an incredible feeling, having 120 friends coming to watch you compete.”

Because this is the first time for the members of Theta Phi Alpha, riders and sisters alike, this race will be extra special, a moment marking what they are hoping could be the start of a great history ahead. Roessler said she and her teammates have embraced their new family and will be ready for the test come Friday.

“This sorority started just this year, and for us to build it so well and in such a short amount of time is amazing,” Roessler said. “I think the best way to reward the girls with their hard work is to have a team out there on the track competing with the rest of the organizations because it shows how far we’ve come.”

VanderGenugten is a Little 500 champion — just not with her current team.

Two years ago, VanderGenugten was a member of the 2010 Little 500-winning Teter squad. However, she fell in love with rock climbing and gave up biking, with the expectation that she would never be riding again.

Yet only months ago, VanderGenugten met Rose Mullaney and Christine Ball through mutual friends, and out of chance, the three decided to make their own biking team.

Melanzana Cycling was born.

“Christine, Rose and I took a training trip to Florida over Christmas break, and that was a great opportunity for us to really get to know each other and create the friendships that we have now,” VanderGenugten said. “Being such a small team, we do pretty much everything together. We’re very fortunate that our friendships have grown beyond cycling.”

During this year’s qualifications, Melanzana finished its first attempt in a flawless effort, posting a 2:50.09 time, ninth overall. No matter what happens on race day, VanderGenugten knows that her teammates will put their hearts on the line on the track and, in her words, ride hard and ride smart.

“It hasn’t been a smooth journey for us, but we’ve all put a lot of effort into this year’s race,” VanderGenugten said. “I think we’re stronger because of the challenges that come with being a first-year team.”

When these four riders have their turns on the track on race day, it will be the culmination of long journeys — ones of pain and ones of destiny — to get to this point.

Though some bikers might take the Little 500 for granted, all four riders realize that it has been their tough work and hardships that have brought them through to where they are now, only days from the race they have dreamed of.

It is only certain that when these riders take the track for their teams Friday and Saturday, it will be a moment they will remember for the rest of their lives.