The field is set

It's amazing the difference two-tenths of a second can make. For Team Major Taylor and Sigma Nu, the small fraction of seconds was the factor in determining which team would be awarded the coveted pole position for the 2004 Men's Little 500. \nLuckily for Team Major Taylor, the two minor fractions worked to its advantage. The team was the second team of 35 to attempt to qualify Saturday at Bill Armstrong Stadium and successfully took first place. Not another team came within a second of their 2:23.3 qualifying time until Sigma Nu took the track. \nAs Sigma Nu rider junior Ryan Taylor began the final lap at 1:47:8, it looked as if the team might take the top spot from Team Major Taylor. Taylor crossed the finish line at 2:23 according to the the stadium clock, which gave the two teams and spectators a few minutes to wonder if Sigma Nu had in fact knocked Major Taylor from the top. As the IU Student Foundation posted the final results, it was clear Major Taylor would hold on to its top spot for the rest of the afternoon.\nBut for Sigma Nu, second place feels just as good as first, if not better.\n"We were expecting to do well," said junior Eric Graebe. "But second is just as well. There is not as much pressure to deal with in second, so we were just as excited."\nFor Team Major Taylor, the first place finish has been in the making since its Little 500 debut two years ago. After qualifying second and finishing the race in the same position in 2003, the team finally snagged the coveted pole position on its first attempt. \nAfter racing with a three-man team last year, Major Taylor has added another rider to its roster, and members said they feel good about being in the high-pressure first place position. Junior Steven Ballinger said the biggest part of the team's success came from exchanges.\n"It's the biggest part and hardest part, plain and simple," Ballinger said. "We have the leg strength and the endurance, so the key thing was exchanges, and we practiced it day in and day out."\nQualifications did bring the traditional teams to the top of the pack -- Phi Gamma Delta, who finished ninth in 2003, will round out the first row in sixth place at 2:25.3. Other successful teams from years past include last year's third place finisher, Acacia, placing ninth in 2:26.4, and ACR Cycling, finishing in 2:24, which secured the team the third place position. Local favorite, the Cutters, recorded a time of 2:27, which puts them into tenth place, and Dodds House placed twelfth with a time of 2:28.5. \nDespite the traditional teams, this year's race will have some surprises added to the mix. One "out of the blue" finish was dorm team Briscoe, which qualified and finished 16th in 2003 but shot up to a fifth place qualifying ride Saturday. The most shocking team to take the track was IU Soccer, made up of four players from the 2003 National Championship team. Before Christmas, the four had never been on a bike but were no doubt in great shape. Sophomore Jordan Chirico said the team was nervous coming into quals and had two goals: to qualify and not to crash. The team did in fact qualify, finishing 27th with a time of 2:36.1. Chirico said the team's main goal is to have a good time.\n"We don't have any expectations about finishing or anything," Chirico said. "We just want to be a part of Little 500."\n-- Contact staff writer Katie Schoenbaechler at kmschoen@indiana.edu.