As public address announcer Jeremy Gray exclaimed, “for the first time ever,” over the speakers of Bill Armstrong Stadium on Friday, the Alpha Chi Omega riders knew they had finally done it. After a second-place finish at last year’s Little 500, the team was finally champions of the 38th edition of the event.
But for some, the win did not sink in as sophomore Libby Lewis crossed the finish line.
“We watched Libby cross the finish line,” Alpha Chi Omega senior Ellie Marsella said post-race. “And it was like, ‘What the heck just happened?’ Obviously, it doesn’t hit and then we were putting these flowers on, and all the emotions are starting to come.”
Alpha Chi Omega knew the opposite feeling 364 days ago. The emotions of defeat. The emotions of second place. Emotions that felt all too familiar.
After the 2020 edition of the women’s Little 500 was cancelled, Alpha Chi Omega finished inside the top 10 in the five races since then. In 2022 and 2023, it came in third place. In 2024, it was ninth. The 2025 race was even closer.
“It’s unreal,” Lewis said post-race. “Being able to just now say that we did do it, and we are capable. I know everybody says it but just being able to prove it. That we did get first place, we were the best team out there today, and it was awesome.”
The sophomore has proven her ability to compete in sprint scenarios. In 2025, Lewis was the first freshman rider to win Individual Time Trials in the 28 years of the event. Lewis could not finish as back-to-back champion after Teter senior Leila Faraday defeated her by .37 seconds this year. However, Lewis avenged her loss at Miss N Out over a week later.
But the 100-lap women’s Little 500 race is a different beast. Teams must strategically react to other riders’ paces. Throughout most of Friday afternoon’s race, Alpha Chi Omega stuck around in the lead peloton.
“Staying up front, that’s what we know we wanted to do,” Marsella said. “This was an extremely fast race, so we knew it was going to be fast the rest of the time. It was kind of like, ‘Who's going to make a move first?’”
The team that made the first move was RideOn. After starting in eighth and in the third row of the grid, RideOn stayed around the lead peloton. Then, the team took the lead on lap 50 and did not look back.
As the laps continued counting down, RideOn increased its lead lap after lap. However, dark clouds rolled over Bill Armstrong Stadium. A yellow flag was thrown first. Then, a red flag stopped the race on lap 63.
When the rain and wind finally rolled in, the once-packed stands stood empty, waiting for the weather to end. Alpha Chi Omega had to wait to see if the race would continue when the downpour finished.
“We hid in the bike room with many bikers,” Marsella said. “There was no connection in that room, so we couldn't even call our coach to be like, ‘Hey, what do we want to do?’ So we kind of talked through what we thought we were able to do individually.”
With 37 laps left, Alpha Chi Omega knew that it had a chance to win, but the team had to react to its competitors.
“I have full confidence in MC (Swanson) and Ellie (Marsella) and Libby (Lewis) always,” junior Emma Nelson said post-race. “... It was just to work with whatever we were given. Literally, you can come up with any scenario we want for the race, and none of them will work.”
But Friday’s plan worked for Alpha Chi Omega.
With six laps remaining, Lewis tapped junior MC Swanson to complete the team’s final bike exchange. Alpha Chi Omega was leading the chasing pack, but in the final 10 laps, Novus flew out to a large lead.
Lap after lap, a chasing group of Melanzana, Kappa Alpha Theta, Teter, RideOn, Sigma Kappa, Delta Gamma and Alpha Chi Omega reduced Novus’ lead.
“I didn’t know Novus was ahead,” Lewis said. “So it was just hard to catch. But then once I knew I was there, I was like, ‘OK, it is three laps of my life. I can push it for three.’”
Lewis stayed in the front peloton until the final lap of the race. As the leaders passed the finish line for the penultimate time, Lewis jumped out to first place in front of senior Melanzana rider Evelyn Morris and Theta senior Bailey Cappella.
Last year, Cappella finished ahead of Lewis to capture Theta’s second consecutive and 10th overall title. This year was a different story.
Lewis stayed ahead of Cappella on the backstretch. Entering turn three, Lewis hugged the inside line as Cappella moved up the track. The move allowed Faraday to move in front of Cappella. However, Faraday did not have enough speed to pass Lewis.
After Lewis passed the finish line, she held up her arms in the air. It was a feeling that her dad, Cory, and mom, Erin, felt as members of Phi Gamma Delta and Theta, respectively, after both teams won in 1995. However, that was Phi Gamma Delta’s sixth title and Theta’s second in team history. Their daughter became the only rider in Alpha Chi Omega history to cross the finish line first.
The moment etched the names of Marsella, Nelson, Swanson and Lewis into history. Mobbed by their family, friends and sorority sisters, the riders completed a ceremonial lap as Queen’s “We Are the Champions” rained down from the speakers.
For the first time in women’s Little 500 history, the Borg-Warner Trophy found a home at 1000 N. Eagleson Ave.
“Honestly, I knew our team could do it,” Lewis said. “I mean, they all set me up for that sprint, and I couldn't have done it without them.”
Editor’s note: Leila Faraday previously worked at the IDS.
