It's not where you start but rather where you finish. These middle-of-the-pack qualifying teams hope to put all their training, experience, and coaching together in hopes of winning it all.
Row 5\nNo. 13 Sigma Pi (2:37.252)\nRespect on the track is something that must be earned. Junior captain Jason Mount believes his team has done that. With all four riders returning from last year, Mount believes that his team is ready to compete.\nAlong with senior Shaun Harless, junior Jeff Wright and sophomore John Camacho, Mount and Sigma Pi look to improve on last year's 19th place finish.\n"There's a lot of awareness on the track that you gain," Mount said.
No. 14 Acacia (2:38.12)\nExperience is something that Acacia is not lacking when it comes to the race. The team has three third-year riders, a second-year rider and only one rookie.\nCaptain Kevin Vanes believes his team's strength is their unity. That could help them better the eighth place finish from a year ago.\nJunior Tyler Burke, senior Kirk Habegger, junior Ryan Brown and sophomore Adam Knoll are the other riders of the team. The final four riders haven't been determined yet.
No. 15 Cutters (2:38.512)\nJunior captain Nick Pejeau believes his team has a distinct advantage when it comes to their coaching staff. He believes his coaches' past experience in the race will really help this year's Cutters team.\n"Little 500 is a race you need experience," Pejeau said. "Our coaches have a lot of experience."\nJunior Ron Hanson, senior Mike Moore and sophomores Chris Vargo and Chris Sahagun make up the rest of the Cutters team that finished 7th last year.
Row 6\nNo. 16 Alta (2:41.293)\nThe Alta team has enough motivation from last year. The team failed to qualify, and senior captain Josh Combs believes that has helped his team prepare.\nIn addition to running stairs at the football stadium and Ballantine Hall, the team spent Spring Break in South Carolina on rides. They have worked a lot on endurance.\nThis is the last year for Combs and seniors David Mullinax and Todd George. Sophomore Nick White is the other rider.\n"Todd, Dave and I wanted to make sure that (not qualifying) didn't happen again," Combs said. "It was a bitter taste, but it was a good motivator."
No. 17 Godspeed (2:41.489)\nGodspeed is a new team this year that is sponsored by St. Paul Catholic Church. All four of the riders are rookies.\n"We're all really excited," junior captain Jon Peregrino said. "We have a lot of enthusiasm."\nPeregrino knows their lack of experience will hurt. Senior Ryan Hong, junior Marshall Howell, senior Victor Neff and Peregrino have been getting help from past riders, which should help them out.
No. 18 Sigma Nu (2:42.357)\nJunior captain Chris Brady believes his team's pack riding ability will help determine how they finish. Sigma Nu has spent much of the early season working on pack riding, its exchanges and its sprinting ability so they will be able to stay up front.\nSeniors Jeremy Selzer and Ed Kapfhammer, junior Adam Redman and sophomore Jon Hatton are all rookie riders. Brady is the lone returner. After finishing 29th last year, Brady hopes for an improvement.
