In 1987, four members of Indiana University’s Kappa Alpha Theta sorority narrowly failed to qualify for that year’s edition of the Little 500. Instead of trying to qualify for the event in 1988, the team created the first ever women’s Little 500 race in the then-37-year history of the tradition.
Now, 38 years later, Kappa Alpha Theta is on the precipice of history again after winning the 2024 and 2025 races. Since the inception of the women’s race, no team has ever won three consecutive championships. But as the riders take to the quarter mile track at Bill Armstrong Stadium on April 24, 32 other teams have a target on Kappa Alpha Theta’s back.
“I think I can speak for the whole team when I say, it's obviously the thought in the back of our mind, but it's not the pressing matter,” Kappa Alpha Theta senior Bailey Cappella said in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student. “I go out there and ride because I love it, and that's what it should be.”
But a strong “Spring Series” from the defending champions can give them confidence heading into race day.
Kappa Alpha Theta finished qualifications in first with a time of 2:43.883, which gave the sorority pole position in front of Teter by 3.663 seconds. However, Theta came in third during Team Pursuit, missing out on the championship race by 2.89 seconds to Alpha Chi Omega’s 10:18.47 mark.
During the individual “Spring Series” events, Kappa Alpha Theta also produced strong showings. Junior Greta Heyl secured a fourth-place finish at Individual Time Trials, as six riders from Theta placed inside the top 35 and three inside the top 10. At Miss N Out, Cappella finished fourth and Heyl took fifth.
“I think spring series is always a good reminder to keep pushing further,” Cappella said. “I think it's a really good showing on our part, but also just a reminder to, you know, never let your foot off the gas, because there's always somebody to chase.”
And the chasers are close behind Kappa Alpha Theta.
After Alpha Chi Omega finished last year’s Little 500 in second, it looks to win its first title in the sorority’s history. Since 2021, the team has placed inside the top 10 at every edition of the race.
“I think after last year, placing second, we all have proven to ourselves that it can be done,” Alpha Chi Omega sophomore Libby Lewis said at Little 500 Media Day on Friday. “It's just a matter of, ‘OK, did we work hard enough?’”
Lewis has been a rising star in the Little 500 community after becoming the first freshman ever to win Individual Time Trials last year. Even though Teter senior Leila Faraday defeated her at this year’s ITTs, Lewis avenged her loss to take home first place at Miss N Out.
As a team, Alpha Chi Omega finished qualifications in third with a time of 2:47.911. The sorority was then beaten by Teter in the women’s championship race at Team Pursuit. Alpha Chi Omega dropped its 10:18.47 qualifying time by 8.25 seconds to 10:10.22. A difference, the team said they felt proud of during Media Day.
However, Teter produced the fastest women’s time since the event changed from 10 to 15 laps in 2021: 10:01.87.
“We can't even be upset about not winning when a team like Teter goes out and really deserves their win,” Alpha Chi Omega junior Emma Nelson said at Little 500 Media Day on Friday. “I think that speaks to the field in general too, because it's competitive ... I'm excited, and lucky to race against such strong, ambitious competitors.”
With 33 teams on the starting grid, Teter provides opponents with strong competition. The team has won the event four times but not since 2019. Teter finished qualifications in second place, as Faraday won Individual Time Trials with a 2:36.62 mark.
Making up the second row of the grid will be Delta Gamma, Melanzana and the Christian Student Fellowship. Delta Gamma finished qualifications with a 2:48.347 time and placed fifth at Team Pursuit. Senior Morgan Heim gave the sorority a fifth-place finish at Individual Time Trials.
Melanzana finished last year’s race in 11th after winning the 2022 and 2023 editions, but senior Evelyn Morris and sophomore Sophie Peterson look to bring the team back to the top spot. Morris secured a third-place result at Individual Time Trials and sixth at Miss N Out, while Peterson was runner-up at Miss N Out.
As race day draws near, riders will prepare for the 100-lap event, which sees the 33 competing teams complete five bike exchanges over the 25.49 miles around the track. Yet for many riders, the wins and losses are not the end goal, but the community and tradition that the event brings to Indiana University.
“I would call it the privilege of my lifetime to race in the Little 500,” Faraday said in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student. “It has made me a much better person in so many ways, so I’ll always be very grateful for that, and it's going to mean a lot to me to race the Little 500 for one last time.”
Editor’s note: Leila Faraday previously worked at the IDS.
This story was originally published in the Indiana Daily Student's spring 2026 Little 500 Guide.
