Kappa Kappa Gamma claims women’s pole for first time since 2010

As the gloomy morning skies gave way to a sparkling, sun-splashed afternoon, the 2013 Women’s Little 500 Qualifications elevated in intensity and competitive spirit.

When the dust settled at Bill Armstrong Stadium, 33 of 34 teams had qualified, officially sealing the lineup for next month’s race.

Collins was the lone team in the field to fail to qualify for a spot in next month’s Little 500.

Claiming the pole starting position was Kappa Kappa Gamma, which qualified with a time of 2:42.54. The finish resulted in a six-place jump from last year’s qualifications, in which Kappa Kappa Gamma earned a seventh-place starting position.

Spearheading the winning effort for the victors was senior Jackie Stevens, who didn’t understate the significance of taking the pole. 

“I feel like we kind of needed it to establish ourselves as a team,” Stevens said. “We’ve always been a highly-ranked team, but I feel like no one ever really looks at us as a threat. I feel like it was good to get our name out there.”

“We went into it really confident. I’m happy, and we’re all really glad we got the pole, but we want to win the race and not just quals.”

While qualifying early in the day is preferred by most teams — including Kappa Kappa Gamma — the team said afternoon sunshine contributed to their success. Kappa Kappa Gamma made its attempt at 1:55 p.m.

“It definitely made our mood a lot better,” Stevens said. “We were all a lot happier and not having to deal with our muscles being really cold.”

“Originally, we were really mad that we weren’t going to be able to qualify in the morning, but it actually kind of ended up favoring us.”

Kappa Kappa Gamma was joined in the top five by Wing It (2:44.30), Kappa Alpha Theta (2:44.60), 2012 Little 500 champion Delta Gamma (2:44.64) and Teter (2:46.85). Four of the top five teams made their attempts at or after 11:40 a.m.

Committing the most monumental slide was Army, which landed 21st (2:58.10) after earning a third-place finish during last years qualifications.

While earning victories relies heavily on experience and leadership from upperclassmen, Kappa Kappa Gamma faced the challenge of cultivating a harmony between the new riders and veterans.

That perceived obstacle unexpectedly transformed into somewhat of a blessing.
“You know, it has actually been kind of nice to start fresh and have a positive attitude all around,” Stevens said. “Being a senior, it is kind of on your shoulders to get them acclimated to everything, but our rookies are awesome.”

After all the hard work put in to earn the top spot in the pole and to spark a chemistry within the team, Kappa Kappa Gamma members allowed themselves time to celebrate on Saturday afternoon following qualifying, though the team members were back on their  bikes Sunday morning.

“We’re trying to stay pretty level-headed,” Stevens said. “We don’t want winning to make us overly confident or cocky. We have a hard month ahead of us, and we need to train really hard to be fully prepared for the race.”