Phi Delt, Kappa teams grab the top 2 spots

After the final results of the men's and women's Little 500 qualifications Saturday, the statement that on any given day, any team can win couldn't be more true.\nThe team performances at qualifications could make or break their situation on race day. Each team not only competed for a place in the 30 teams field, but also for a front track position. \nThe top three teams receive a front row position, and so on. The top qualifying spot, the pole position, is the inside-most, front-row position on the track. This position is the most coveted by all riders because it gives them an advantage and helps them avoid crashes during the race.\nAfter only one attempt, Phi Delta Theta, which qualified fourth last season and won the 2001 race, snagged a top spot for this year's competition with a time of 2:23.906. Coming in only six seconds after was Phi Gamma Delta, which qualified first last year. The final three teams rounding out the top five were independent teams Major Taylor, Corleone and Teter, a residence hall team.\nDespite the advantages of the leading position going into the final Little 500 race, senior Phi Delt rider Brian Drummy said his team's six-second lead over the rest of the field will have any significance in April. \n"I don't think that the pole has any advantage," Drummy said. "Anywhere on the first three rows is a good starting position and that's all we wanted going into quals. We didn't qual in 1998, so I think that's always in the back of everyone's mind. We were just happy because we got a good time."\nOnly 30 teams competed in qualifications on the women's side, assuring each entry a spot in the Little 500 before the competition even began.\nKappa Kappa Gamma took the pole by nearly two seconds with a time of 2:48.644 behind sub-45 second runs from all four racers. Kappa Alpha Theta, last year's Little 500 runner-up, took second and Con Fuoco finished third. Phi Mu and Alpha Phi Omega rounded out the top five.\n"Our team is very excited about our performance," senior Kappa Alpha Theta rider Parker Ryan said. "Our goal was to at least get in the front row and we accomplished that. We can check that off; it's one less goal. But you don't want to get too caught up in being second. Once the race starts, anything can happen and then it's about strategy and playing it smart."\nThe Roadrunners, last year's women's Little 500 winner, turned in an eighth-place performance with a 2:57.295 qualification time. The team returns only sophomore Jenn Wangerin, after losing three seniors from last year's race. Wangerin said she is pleased with her team mates' improvement and the team's placement, but that the squad needs to improve more for the actual race.\n"I think we did OK. The goal of the Roadrunners is usually to get in one of the first three rows and go from there," Wangerin said. "I think our exchanges (at qualifications) weren't very good at all -- every one was marred in some way. But everyone else is just a rookie, so we just need to get some experience"