Miller, Doll sweep Little 500 Fall Series

Black Key Bulls senior Jacob Miller and Chi Omega senior Aryn Doll swept the Little 500 fall cycling series as the 64th year of the Little 500 kicked off this weekend.

The fall series consisted of individual time trials Friday, sprint races down Kirkwood Avenue on Saturday and cyclocross throughout the tailgate fields Sunday.

After a one-year hiatus, the individual time trials made its return to Bill Armstrong Stadium.

Miller took the top spot on the men’s side with a time of 2:35.28 on what Miller described as a rough, slow track.

Miller’s time was just over a second quicker than second place finisher junior Nick Torrance of Sigma Phi Epslilon, who was in the same group as Miller.

“Based on the conditions, you can only go so fast, so I guess I was happy with it because I was first,” Miller said. “I knew that it was a fast heat when I saw Torrance in front of me. I saw that I was gaining on him so I felt like I must have been going pretty fast.”

Doll (2:50) and Teter senior Emma Caughlin (2:51.14) proved to be the class of the women’s field, finishing nearly six seconds ahead of the third place rider.

“I was surprised there was such a big separation between Aryn and I and the rest of the field,” Caughlin said. “It was nice to have her as a competitor because we were in the same heat, which made it fun.”

The individual time trial times set the field for a double elimination sprint competition down Kirkwood Avenue on Saturday.

The section of the street between North Lincoln Street and the Sample Gates at North Indiana Avenue was closed down as the riders sprinted down a 200-meter drag strip.

Miller and Doll would once again prove to be the dominant riders, taking home the titles.

Doll went undefeated en route to winning her second consecutive event.

“I kept telling myself, one more and I’m done,” Doll said. “I felt really strong. It being on Kirkwood now makes it more real being in the heart of IU.”

The men’s final featured No. 1 seed Miller and Phi Kappa Sigma senior Robert Frangi.

Frangi had defeated Miller in the opening round, but Miller would not let that happen again as he went on to post his best run of the day.

“I think I was more focused because it was just me and (Frangi),” Miller said. “As you progress through the heats, you kind of progress and work on the technique of what you need to do.”

Miller completed his weekend sweep with senior teammate Jimmy Rosati, completing 15 laps.

Doll completed her weekend sweep with senior teammate Lily Stephens by edging out Caughlin and her senior teammate Ashton DeHahn by 2.111 seconds.

Although the fall series was competitive and held some implications on next year’s Little 500 qualifying, Doll said the atmosphere surrounding the events was upbeat.

“The events are about having fun and seeing what you can do as a rider,” Doll said. “I had fun with it, but I also pushed myself to the limits. It’s a blast.”

Follow reporter Sam Beishuizen on Twitter @Sam_Beishuizen.