Cutters, Delta Gamma avoid wrecks, claim victories in final series event

Most Little 500 teams participate in Team Pursuit -- the final event of the pre-race series -- to get themselves in the right mind-set for the actual race. But Saturday's event hurt some teams more than it helped.\nSeveral serious wrecks slowed the event despite limits that allowed only two teams on the track at a time. Two riders broke their collarbones, and one separated a shoulder.\nIn a different accident, Single Speed Sprinters wrecked between turns three and four. Seconds later, Athena came barreling into them. No one was seriously injured in the collision, but one Single Speed Sprinters rider was taken to the hospital.\nDelta Gamma survived the day and claimed the women't title; the Cutters won the men's crown.\nIn the women's finals, Delta Gamma sneaked past Kappa Alpha Theta by less than a second, in 8:39.56 during the 12-lap race. \nIn the men's event, the Cutters improved on their preliminary time of 9:46.75 by racing to a 15-lap time of 9:44.20 in the finals, defeating Sigma Phi Epsilon, which posted a time of 10:00.65, nearly 15 seconds slower than their preliminary time.\nCutters senior Henrik Wahlberg said his team's knowledge of the track made for smooth going. \n"We know where the bumps are," Wahlberg said. "We haven't wrecked once."\nThe Cutters finished their first 15 laps with only three riders, but all four riders stuck together, finishing two seconds faster than in the preliminaries.\nSigma Phi Epsilon pulled out to an early lead in the finals but began to fall behind as the laps wound down, giving the Cutters a substantial margin of victory. Wahlberg said the Cutters had anticipated Sig Ep's move. \n"Our coaches told us not to worry about it," Wahlberg said.\nThe closest matchup of the night was the women's finals, with Delta Gamma taking the championship over Kappa Alpha Theta by less then a second. The teams were even during the 12-lap run, but Delta Gamma pulled ahead coming off turn two for the victory.\nWhile the defending women's Little 500 champs were disappointed, they maintained that their real focus is on the race.\n"The series events are fun, but they're not the race," Kappa Alpha Theta senior Krissy Johnson said.\nKappa Alpha Theta senior Sara Coffman credits her team's depth for the close race.\n"Our goal was to train for the race," Coffman said. "We want to race well in the series, but that's not our goal."\nKappa Alpha Theta finished ahead of the competition in the series points, with Delta Gamma second and Delta Zeta third. Phi Delta Theta came out on top of the men's points. Phi Gamma Delta came in second and Sigma Phi Epsilon was third.\nThe teams will practice at Bill Armstrong Stadium for the next two weeks until the races.