Riders coming into the final stretch

The final series event is tonight, and Little 500 weekend is only two weeks away. The calendar may show time is running out, but a better gauge of the dwindling time is the fierce competition on the track.\nThe men and women's fields are both full of tight competition and experienced teams. \n"There's a lot of competition in the women's field," junior Phi Mu rider Annika Hosni said. "There are a lot of teams that have a chance to win, which makes the race that much more exciting."\nTeam Pursuit marks the final event of the spring series events. Team Pursuit is similar to the final race, testing a team's strength and unity on the track. \n"I'm looking forward to Team Pursuit," senior Corleones rider Luke Isenbarger said. "I think it will give everybody a true idea of how strong each individual team is as a whole."\nThe event consists of two teams beginning in the infield on opposite sides of the track. The riders race from the infield to their bikes that lay on track. The object of the event is to "chase" the other team and gain the fastest time. The men race 15 laps and the women race 12. The fastest two times of the preliminary heats meet each other in the final race, which determines the event champions. \nLast year the event was canceled due to weather problems, and according to The Weather Channel, there's only a 20 percent chance it could be canceled again this year. \nThe coveted white jersey that goes to the winner of the series events looks to be in the hands of Fiji. The team is currently leading the men's series with 50 points, followed by Gafombi with 65. The series event points are ranked in reverse order with the winning team scoring one point, second place scoring two points and so on. \nThe better skill of the teams this year is a contributing factor to the excitement surrounding the event.\n"I think the teams overall are stronger this year," senior Sigma Pi rider Jason Mount said. "Last year there were some strong individuals. It should be more exciting for that reason."\nWith no chance of a repeat performance for any women's team, the field is wide open. \nTwo heats stand out as the featured event today. At 6:48 p.m., in a battle of the front row, senior Meg Haney and Co. from Kappa Kappa Gamma take the track against senior Liz Keck and Alpha Chi Omega. Then at 7:36 p.m. pole sitter Phi Mu races against one of the women's race premier traditions in Kappa Alpha Theta.\nThe event, which will begin to distinguish the top teams from the rest of the pack, will feature a variety of skilled riders. \n"We have four very strong girls," senior Team Athena rider Allison Ware said. "We hope to do very well. I hope it's an event for us to shine (in)."\nIn a race in which the historically top teams all qualified very well, one team, Team Athena, looks to improve on its legacy in the Little 500.\nTeamwork is the key to this event, Ware said, as it is in the race. \n"There's always surprise teams," she said. "This year, I think we've been one of them"