Kappa Alpha Theta members take pride in origins, look to be competitive this year

They ride for tradition.

The women of Kappa Alpha Theta cycling said they know just how much their performance in the Women’s Little 500 race affects not only their sorority as it is now but also past and future riders.

So they push it, through fatigue, hunger and apathy.

“It’s not just us that we’re affecting. We’re affecting every Theta rider that ever rode,” junior Kathleen Chelminiak said. “Anything we do is for the benefit for not just our team but for the benefit of Theta cycling. That’s just what we’re working toward.”

Chelminiak, who started cycling for Theta this past year, has stood out already this spring riding season after topping both the Individual Time Trials and Miss-N-Out. She said the importance of alumni and future riders has always been important to her and her teammates.

“We’re really close to the alumni riders, and we know how important it was to them and how many hours they put in,” Chelminiak said. “If we didn’t take it seriously, then it’s like, ‘Oh, we don’t respect what you guys built.’”

In 1987, a group of women from Theta attempted to qualify for the men’s race. Their actions prompted the IU Student Foundation to create what is now the women’s race in 1988.

Captain and junior Rachel Metherd said this isn’t lost to the women now, 25 years later.

“We started the race in ’88. To ride for Theta is a huge honor,” Metherd said. “I would say that winning has always been a goal and a possibility. I don’t think one year we’ve been like, ‘There’s no chance, so let’s just play around on the track.’ We aren’t here to play around.”

Alumni are incredibly supportive and helpful every year, with former team members visiting during training, qualifications and the race, Metherd said.

The riders agreed that their current sorority sisters offer constant support.

“They just work so hard every single day,” Theta junior Dorah Patton said while cheering the Theta squad during Miss-N-Out. “We don’t see half the stuff they do. They get up earlier than us to go on rides, and on the weekends, we’ll still be sleeping. We try to be supportive, and we write them notes a lot.”

The 2012 squad, which includes one sophomore, two juniors and two seniors, was an almost entirely rookie squad in 2011. Metherd said it wasn’t easy, trying to navigate the ins and outs of the track for the first time alongside other rookies with only one returning rider to help.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” Metherd said. “Experience takes up a big percentage of doing well.”

The team has progressed considerably since then. In 2011, the women qualified 11th with a time of 2:56.90. This year, they poled sixth with a time of 2:47.03.

“This year, we have four returning riders,” Metherd said. “It’s a lot easier on everyone. We’re more independent. We pretty much have it under control, and there is nothing new. Everything on our training schedule doesn’t surprise us.”

The training really began only a week after the 2011 race, with the process of recruiting rookie riders and easy rides around Bloomington.

Metherd said it isn’t hard recruiting because of the passion her sorority has for the cyclists.

“Our bike team trains year round,” said Theta junior Hannah Herman, who was also at Bill Armstrong Stadium, cheering on Theta cycling during Miss-N-Out. “There is no off-season for them. Everyone in our house has the competitive side to them.”

Rookie rider and sophomore Kate McDougal said she never anticipated that Little 500 riding would be so intense or hardcore, but she said she loves it.

“I always had strong legs in high school and wasn’t sure what to do with them, but now I feel like its beneficial,” McDougal said.

McDougal, who came in 25 out of 119 women in ITTs, said she is not sure she will be riding come race day but that she has been happy be a part of the Theta tradition.

“I think it’s an amazing thing to be associated with the first women’s team, and it puts a lot of weight on our shoulders to carry on the legacy,” McDougal said. “But it’s not something we can’t handle.“