Sophomore immersed in tradition, hype of race

Sophomore Jenn Wangerin wouldn't have believed it if someone told her a year ago that she would be riding for the Roadrunners in the 2001 women's Little 500.\nA year ago, she had no idea what the Little 500 was.\n"Last year I read about the Cutters winning, and I think that was the first time I ever heard about the race," Wangerin said. "I'm from Dyer, Ind., and my coach is from Munster (Ind.), so the local paper had a story about that, too. But that was it."\nNow, not only is Wangerin riding in the Little 500, but she has developed into a standout rookie. Her teammates affectionately refer to her as the "Rockstar Rookie" because of her recent success.\nWangerin finished third in the Individual Time Trials March 28 with a time of 2:55.19. She was the only rookie to finish in the top five.\n"I don't think I realize how well I am doing," Wangerin said. "I was actually disappointed with my time, because I went faster in practice. But I am still pretty happy with how I finished."\nWangerin, a former track and field athlete in high school, joined the IU Cycling Club in the fall, where she met teammate Leslie Gilmore, a senior.\nGilmore approached Wangerin about the possibility of riding in the race. Wangerin was hesitant at first but decided to give it a try.\n"I was excited when Leslie told us she had found another teammate," senior Samantha Karn said. "Jenn showed a lot of great possibilities."\nWangerin joined the team in the fall, which brought the total number of Roadrunners to five. Karn, Gilmore and seniors Amy Bridges and Randi Ritter were all veterans.\nMinus Bridges, who spent the fall semester overseas, the rest of the team began training.\n"I didn't meet her until January," Bridges said of Wangerin. "But I am not surprised how successful she's been. She is very dedicated and has worked so hard."\nWangerin did not have a road bike, so she used her mountain bike as a substitute at the beginning of her training.\nWangerin said the team spent the fall getting comfortable with each other and riding.\nDuring spring break, Wangerin stayed with the team in Bloomington.\n"She worked hard over spring break," Karn said. "She got to learn more about our team as individuals. We stayed in a hotel. That way, we could be all together and could have our team bonding since we weren't going away."\nBut while the other team members were getting excited and nervous for the upcoming events, Wangerin had mixed feelings going into qualifications and time trials.\n"(Qualifications) was really exciting because right before we rode, some fan section started chanting 'pole position,'" Wangerin said. "But I wasn't as psyched at (time trials), because it has been hard for me since I haven't done this before. It's hard to feel something when you really don't know how you are supposed to feel or what you are supposed to do."\nBut Karn and Bridges said Wangerin has come a lot farther than she thinks.\nBridges said when Wangerin started, she had typical rookie problems. She wasn't accustomed to riding in the pack and various other Little 500 techniques.\n"Every rookie has problems with some things," Bridges said. "You just have to learn as you go. But she's good at sprinting, and she's worked hard at that. She's got strong legs that get her going quick."\nBut Wangerin might not even get the chance to show off her abilities in the race. \nBecause there are five riders, someone is going to be watching during the race. Their coaches won't decide who will ride in Friday's race until later this week.\n"We all work hard, and we all deserve to be on the team on race day," Bridges said. "But even though only four of us can ride, we are all going to be down on the track on race day supporting each other."\nEven if Wangerin doesn't get to ride this year, she said it won't stop her from participating next year. But losing all of her teammates is going to present a challenge for her.\n"Next year, I am going to be the only returning rider, so I am going to have to have a strong leadership role," Wangerin said. "I don't know who we are going to be getting, so I don't know what is going to happen. I just know that I am definitely going to be part of it again"