After another Spring Series event and another weather delay, times were slower Sunday night for Team Pursuit as the rain began to fall. Teams were worried about track conditions, but overall the playing field was level after the storm rolled in.
Once Teter entered the track and got going, it didn’t really notice the track conditions. They didn’t seem to have an effect on the riders.
Teter rode 12 laps with a time of 8:36.81 and they felt amazing, senior rider Eliza Heath said. They then had to wait until the final nine heats concluded to see if their time was fast enough to ride in the championship heat.
Alpha Omicron Pi came a few heats later, and finished with a time of 8:41.8 and then there was Delta Gamma in at 8:41.15. In the same heat as DG, Kappa Alpha Theta shattered all previous times with their ride of 8:30.81.
“We were definitely hoping to make it to finals,” Heath said. “We kind of assumed it would come down to something like this but with the way the sport works, there’s no guarantee. It’s not over until it’s over.”
As the final nine heats concluded, Teter survived, and would face Theta for the 2016 Team Pursuit title. Earlier in the night, Theta rode six seconds faster than Teter, but Teter was able to match that in the finals.
Teter’s team of three senior riders, Heath, Julia Thomas and Kelsey Kluesner, finished ahead of Theta with a time of 8:30.62, while Theta came in at 8:41.15.
“It feels amazing,” Thomas said. “We worked really hard for this. It definitely gives us good momentum going into Friday. ITT’s and Miss N outs were up and down but it feels good to finish it off strong and show we can hang with the best.”
Having the team’s three seniors out on the track for the group’s final Team Pursuit was bittersweet, Thomas said. The team is the best form of motivation, rivalry and support.
In practice, the three are very competitive with each other, trying to beat out each other’s times. But when it comes down to it, they enjoy working together and pushing one another.
“Now, I think we’ve shown we’re pretty strong when it matters,” Kluesner said. “We’re peaking at the right time and that’s exciting.”
Spring Series has been fun for the team, but ultimately they have one more goal left to achieve Friday.
“Its fun, but it’s do or die,” Thomas said. “We all feel it. We just want to perform well and get the job done. Because this is our last chance.”
