FRIENDLY FOES

As a 3-year-old, Katie Thompson was allowed to ride her bike only so far down her block. Her parents set up a barrier a few houses down so she would not escape their sight.\nEight houses away from Katie's, Lauren Ziemba frequently pedaled her training-wheel-supported bike to the barrier her parents established.\nThe girls' boundaries were neighboring houses where the two often met on their bikes. Before long, they began talking to each other and became best friends. \nNot much has changed since their childhood days in Munster, Ind. Katie and Lauren still live in different houses. They still ride bikes. And they are still best friends. \nBut there are some differences. Now they can ride their bikes wherever they want. And they surely don't need training wheels. \nNow IU seniors, Katie and Lauren are star cyclists for sororities Alpha Phi and Kappa Delta. When the women's Little 500 race begins at 4 p.m. Friday, Kappa Delta and Alpha Phi will start the race first and second, and the two best friends find themselves in a familiar position -- together. \nThough they attended different elementary and middle schools, the seniors often played with one another outside of school, whether it was riding bikes or getting yelled at in a neighbor's yard. They even played softball on the same team. \n"Even though they went to separate schools, the sports brought them back together," said Katie's mother Patti. \nAfter middle school, the pair attended Munster High School and their friendship grew. They were members of the volleyball team, the track team, the student \ngovernment and, "pretty much everything together," Katie said. "If you ask anybody from Munster about Lauren Ziemba, they'll think about Katie Thompson. We go hand in hand. We did everything together."\nThe two haven't always been interested in cycling, though. In high school, they gave up their bikes for flashier modes of transportation, like in-line skates and cars. \n"I couldn't get Lauren to ride a bike in high school," said Dorothy Ziemba, Lauren's mother. "They couldn't wait to drive a car."\nThat's why both families found it odd when the two decided to ride in the Little 500 as sophomores. \n"It really is surprising that they became that good at something like this," said Steve Ziemba, Lauren's brother and Alpha Tau Omega rider. "Where we live, no one rides bikes competitively."\nAfter witnessing the race first-hand as freshmen, the then-roommates were steadfast in their desire to be on the track as sophomores.\n"We came back in the fall, bought bikes and started riding," Lauren said.\n"It was another one of those, 'Oh here go Lauren and Katie again,'" said Katie's brother Matthew Thompson. \nAnd now they are in position to go all the way to the winner's podium.\n"It never started out that way," said Lauren's father Joe. "It just ended up that way."\nHe remembers the pair's humbling introduction to the Little 500.\nSophomore year, Kappa Delta and Alpha Phi attempted their qualifications back-to-back. Lauren rode first for Kappa Delta, and Katie rode first for Alpha Phi. \nAfter successfully completing her first lap, Lauren approached the bike exchange too fast and flipped head first over her handlebars. True to form, Katie did the exact same thing. \nThey managed to successfully qualify on their second attempts. \nKatie's mother is glad the two found their niche at IU. \n"Through this cycling, I am so impressed that they have made that huge school such a small college," she said. \nEach year, Katie's and Lauren's teams improved. In the 2004 Little 500 race, Kappa Delta finished 13th and Alpha Phi finished 14th. Last year, Kappa Delta finished fourth and Alpha Phi sixth. \nPerhaps their improvement comes from extra motivation fueling them each time they ride on the track. \n"The term 'friendly competition,' we definitely put good use to it," Lauren said. "Best-friendly competition. Put best friends first, of course, and then it's competition second."\nThrough bike rides back home with the pair, Matthew Thompson senses the rivalry. The three usually start their bike rides at a modest pace. \n"Next thing you know, we're getting faster and faster," he said. "Katie and Lauren subconsciously, it seems like they always try to be better than the other person. I think that helps define their friendship."\nIt was only fitting that during Qualifications, Lauren's Kappa Delta team took the pole away from Katie's Alpha Phi team late in the day.\nEven with the competition, the two are still each other's biggest fans. \n"We went out that night and took a toast to one-two," Katie said about their Qualification-day celebration.\nIf either Alpha Phi or Kappa Delta wins, expect both Katie and Lauren to be celebrating.\n"I won't feel the exact same feeling as she's feeling (if Alpha Phi wins), but I'll definitely party with her as if I won," Lauren said.\nSo will their parents. The Thompsons and the Ziembas are staying at the same hotel during Little 500 weekend. Before the race Friday, the Ziembas will join the Thompsons for Alpha Phi's pre-race tailgate.\n"It doesn't really matter who wins because we know they will both do well," Dorothy Ziemba said.\nFriday, the two will add one more memory to a friendship that almost two decades and become competitors for an elusive Little 500 title.\n"Neither of our sororities have ever won," Katie said. "We've always said, 'Alpha Phi and Kappa Delta have to get one-two.' We'll just decide April 21 who gets it"