Melanzana Cycling repeats as Women’s Little 500 Champions
Defending Champions Melanzana Cycling came from the middle of the pack Friday afternoon to win the 2023 Little 500 Women’s Bike Race at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the Indiana University Campus. They become the 8th Different team to repeat as champions in the 35th year of the Women’s race. The race was delayed over and hour due to weather as rain moved through Bloomington earlier in the day Friday and race officials opted for a delay instead of pushing back the race a day to give more time to get the track dry and make sure fans were treated to a very exciting race and it lived up to the billing.
Despite temperatures in the 50’s and overcast skies a good crowd was on hand to see 27 teams battled it out for who would be the last team standing after 100 laps and 25 miles on a cinder track. Wilke Sprint who won the very first Women’s Little 500 in 1988 were the grand marshals for this race. The Ladies along with one of their coaches greeted every team at the start finish line, gave the command to mount their bicycles and were in victory lane to greet the top 3 teams and get a picture with the race champions. Once the traditions of Back Home Again Indiana along with Indiana Our Indiana were sung it was time to go racing.
Alpha Chi Omega who started on the pole took control early. Teter was right there to challenge and as the pack was tight to start the race everybody knew the team in the Yellow Jerseys who were the defending champions with a veteran rider who was one of the rookies on the team a year ago were not going to stay in the middle of the pack for very long. Abby Green is the lone holdover from the team last year that featured team captain Abby Teed, Juli Torbik and Bloomington North graduate Grace Williams which dominated the race winning in 1:14:15 with Williams and Teed leading the way. Green along with Grace Washburn, Lauren Etnyre and Bloomington North graduate Nora Abdelkader had to come from behind late to win this year’s race with a time of 1:12:26. Green who is the leader of this year’s team started the race for the defending champions and quickly worked her way to the front going from 13th to the lead within the first few laps. Pole sitters Alpha Chi Omega, Teter and Delta Gamma were all battling throughout the race and each exchange became crucial as the race went on. Green would lead for a while and then sit back and draft as she and her teammates waited for the right time to take the lead. They also knew that their exchanges were going to be important when they were behind, but they went all out to make sure they were not going to be counted out. They worked along slower bikes and went right back in front.
Teter took the lead at Lap 30 and then at Lap 50 they led the next 30 laps and increased the lead to 14 seconds leading by half a lap. Alpha Chi Omega and Melanzana closed the gap and Delta Gamma took the lead on Lap 81 but only for a few seconds as an exchange gave Melanzana the lead. Melanazna went the distance leading the final 10 laps and increasing the lead by 14 seconds. Teter finished in second and Alpha Chi Omega finished 3rd. The top three were playing cat and mouse in the final laps with several back exchanges and made sure they were not going to lose track position. Green handed it off to Washburn who had her fist in the air as she came down the homestretch knowing that her team had completed the mission of back-to-back titles. For the second year in a row the race finished without a caution and no serious injuries. A couple riders fell during bike exchanges, but the fans saw another clean and exciting Women’s Little 500. Melanzana took its victory lap around the track with their fans running behind them as Queen’s “We Are the Champions” was blaring over the loudspeaker.
The Cutters sprint to the finish to win the Men’s Little 500
The Cutters won the 72nd Little 500 Men’s Bike Race Saturday Afternoon at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the Indiana University Campus. The Cutters have won a record 15 times and take home the title for the first time since going back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. The team that has made this race famous and inspired the Movie “Breaking Away” has won titles in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2007, 2008 2009, 2010 2011, 2018 and 2019. This year’s team features two kids from Bloomington in Torin Kray-Mawhorr and Judah Thompson. Jacob Koone and Peyton Gaskill round the team that started from the pole position.
32 other teams lined up to battle with out with Cutters and battle they did for 200 laps and 50 miles but when it came down to the sprint to the finish that covered the last 600 meters the Cutters came out on top. Delta Tau Delta finished second and Sigma Phi Epsilon finished third. There was no rain but very windy conditions as temperatures dropped throughout the race. The riders were able to navigate the conditions until the first caution of the race came out 50 laps in. The Cutters led on Lap 40 then the accident came, and teams were bunched up again. Once they went back to green Sigma Pi Epsilon went out in front leading by 16 seconds 75 laps in and 22 seconds halfway through the race.
Sigma Pi Epsilon led over 80 laps of the race, but the Cutters cut the lead to 8 seconds on lap 115 and lap 148 the Cutters retook the lead after an exchange by Sigma Pi Epsilon gave up their led. The Race changed at Lap 163 when Chi Alpha and Delta Tau Delta wrecked on the front stretch. That set up the top two teams to do battle the rest of the way. The Cutters led with 30 laps to go but Delta Tau Delta caught to the leaders with 20 laps left. With 12 laps to go a caution on the back stretch set up a five-team finish as Chi Alpha got back in after the wreck earlier caused them to go down but not out.
Once they went green after the second caution the top five went all out to the finish and for the second year in a row the Men’s Race came down to the very end with the team that has won more championships than any other team in race history adding to their trophy case. Another big crowd filled Bill Armstrong Stadium like they did on Friday for the Women’s Race and were treated to another exiting finish and why this is billed as “The World Greatest College Weekend”. Indiana University Head Football Coach Tom Allen, his son Thomas and Daughter in Law former Indiana University Softball player Annika (Beaz) Allen were in the infield watching all the action. The grand marshals for the race were 1988 Women’s Little 500 Champions Wilke Sprint who greeted all 33 teams and gave the command to mount their bicycles just like they did for the Women’s Race.
The Indy 500 pace car took 3 laps around the track before the race went green. Women’s Little 500 champs Melanzana Cycling got to take the parade lap around the track and the traditions of Back Home Again in Indiana and Indiana our Indiana got the crowd ready for and exciting afternoon of racing and the Cutters along with their fans got to take a victory lap around the track with Queen’s “We Are the Champions” blaring over the loudspeakers.
Jeremy Gray served as the Public Address Announcer for this year’s race which was the first time that he been the voice of the Little 500. Gray is the voice of Indiana University Men’s and Women’s Basketball in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The Indiana University Student Foundation puts on this race, and it has helped raise over 2 million dollars in scholarships for Indiana University Students and will continue to for a very long time. After not having a race in 2020 and No Fans in 2021 this was second time that Little 500 has been back its normal date of the third weekend in April and for everybody involved it just feels right.
Four Indiana University Women’s Basketball players to compete in USA Basketball 3×3 National Championships
Four Indiana Women’s Basketball players will play in the 2023 USA Basketball 3X Nationals in Colorado Springs. Sydney Parrish, Sara Scalia, Lilly Meister, and Lexus Bargesser will all compete at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center (OPTC) on May 6-7. The USA Basketball 2023 3X Nationals will crown a men’s and women’s champion, and the event also serves as an evaluation opportunity for the USA Basketball 3×3 selection committee to identify players for 3×3 national teams. 2023 teams include the FIBA 3×3 World Cup, the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup, the FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup, the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series, the FIBA 3×3 U23 Nations League, the FIBA 3×3 U21 Nations League and the Pan American Games. 3X Nationals will tip off May 6 and will continue through the weekend with preliminary and medal round games. Teams will be seeded based on preliminary records before entering tournament play.
Bargesser, Meister, Parrish and Scalia are four strong competitors who are looking forward to competing in Colorado this summer. Rising senior Sydney Parrish and rising graduate student Sara Scalia were standout starters this year. Parrish averaged 12.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game, earning herself an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention. She shot 44.8 percent from the floor and 36.7 percent from the 3-point line, totaling 55 3-pointers on the season. Scalia scored in double figures 14 times and averaged 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Also earning herself an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, Scalia is the team’s best free throw shooter with a 91.2 percent clip at the line, where she went 52-for-57.
Coming off the bench, rising sophomores Lexus Bargesser and Lilly Meister made their impact known on the court. Bargesser played in 29 games off the bench, averaging 7.8 minutes and shooting 58.1 percent from the floor. She recorded a season-high nine points, two assists and five steals against UMass Lowell. Meister contributed minutes in 31 games and recorded one start. She scored a career-high points against UMass Lowell with 10 and recorded eight rebounds against Morehead State. 3X Nationals is open to the public and is set to live stream on Saturday and Sunday on USA Basketball’s website, usab.com, and YouTube.com/USABasketball.
Indiana University Wrestlers Derek Gilcher and Cayden Rooks named NWCA Scholar All-Americans
The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) announced that Indiana wrestlers Derek Gilcher and Cayden Rooks were named NWCA Scholar All-Americans on Friday afternoon. Gilcher and Rooks are two of 282 student-athletes in all of NCAA Division I wrestling to receive this distinction. It is the first time receiving the award for both student-athletes, as well.
Gilcher is a junior majoring in Comprehensive Design while Rooks is a senior and a Psychology major. In other academic recognition, Gilcher and Rooks were both named to the 2023 Academic All-Big Ten team. In addition to their studies, each wrestler was a routine starter in the Indiana lineup this season. Gilcher started at 157 lbs. and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career, while Rooks started at 141 lbs. all year and competed in the Big Ten Championships.
Indiana University Women’s Tennis falls in regular season finale
No. 70 Indiana women’s tennis (13-10, 4-5 B1G) fell to No. 24 Wisconsin (17-5, 7-3 B1G), 5-0, at Nielsen Tennis Center in their final game of the regular season. The Badgers went up 1-0 after they swept the doubles matches. Wisconsin would clinch the match winning No. 4, 2 and five singles in straight sets. Indiana will head to West Lafayette, Ind., for the Big Ten Tournament from April 26-30.
INDIANA 0, WISCONSIN 5
SINGLES
1. #58 Ava Markham (WIS) vs. Lara Schnieder (IND, 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
2. #75 Maria Sholokhova (WIS) def. Saby Nihalani (IND), 6-3, 6-1
3. Alina Mukhortova (WIS) def. Mila Mejic (IND), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Taylor Cataldi (WIS) def. Alexandra Staiculescu (IND), 6-0, 6-1
5. #125 Xinyu Cai (WIS) def. Nicole Teodsescu (IND), 6-4, 6-3
6. Charmaine Seah (WIS) vs. Xiaowei “Rose” Hu (IND), 7-6 (7-5), unfinished
DOUBLES
1. Markham/ Sholokhova (WIS) def. Lara Schneider/Saby Nihalani (IND), 6-2
2. #82 Mukhortova/Cai (WIS) def. Staiculescu/Teodosescu (IND), 6-1
3. Seah/Cataldi (WIS) def. Lemonds/Hu (IND), 6-1
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