Racing through the rain, teams qualify for Little 50

After finishing second last year by a mere two seconds, team Cream wanted to come out strong and show the rest of the women’s field what they could do. Mission accomplished.\nThe four Cream women started off heat one of the qualifications for the sixth running of Little 50 with a bang. Running the 4x800-meter relay, sophomore Lauren Sewell, senior Kati Bennett, junior Amy Farrell and freshman Jen Laser secured first place with a time of 10:29.19. Second place in the heat crossed the line more than a minute and 30 seconds later. \n“I felt pretty confident today,” Laser said. “The team went out and did really well.” \nDespite running mostly the 3200- and 1600-meter races on the Hinsdale Central High School track and field team in Illinois, Laser anchored the team in the relay, with a split of 2:26 for her 800. \nThe weather conditions were not the best for the runners, with heavy rains over the previous night creating many puddles on the track. This did not stop the runners from giving maximum effort, which was especially evident in the second heat of the race. \nOn the men’s side, Running for Black’s sophomore Tim Holt sprinted as hard as he could coming down the straightaway of his 800-meters, not wanting anyone to pass him. \n“I started kicking it in really hard,” Holt said. “I couldn’t even control my legs.”\nAs Holt crossed the finish line, he lost his balance and plummeted to the ground. Although he was a little slow to get up and had blood coming from his leg, he was still happy about what his team was able to accomplish.\n“We only had three people to run today,” he said. “We wanted to qualify and we did that.” \nFollowing the second heat for the men, Mercury, who also finished second in last year’s Little 50, was determined to run hard.\nTaking the lead on the second leg, the team never looked back and won the heat in a record setting time of 8:19.84.\nMercury team captain and senior Michael Philippsen was very happy with how his team performed. \n“It was an awesome afternoon to run,” he said. \nFellow senior and teammate Ryan Tanselle, who will be running in his fourth Little 50 this year, said he thinks there is something different about this team. \n“This is the most dedicated team I’ve ever been on,” he said. \nOverall, first-year race director Matt Ewing said he was pleased with how the qualifications turned out. \n“The weather held off for us and everything ran very smoothly,” he said. \nThe running will continue next week with one series event planned. The “Golden Mile,” a one mile race, will be contested next Thursday night with the first heat starting around 7 p.m. \nThis event will lead up to the main event, the sixth running of the Little 50, which will take place April 10.