The World’s Greatest College Weekend is back in Bloomington
The Little 500 Bike Races have been billed as the “World Greatest College Weekend” and the largest collegiate bike race in the United States will get going this afternoon with the 36th Women’s Race at 4 pm and the 73rd Men’s Race tomorrow afternoon at 2pm at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the Indiana University Campus. 33 Teams will line up in 11 Rows of three with four riders on each team to battle out for the title for the miniature version of the Borg-Warner Trophy which is awarded to the winner of the Indianapolis 500. You can watch both races streamed on the Indiana University Broadcast Channels.
The Women’s Race is 100 Laps around the cinder track at Bill Armstrong Stadium for 25 Miles. Teter starts from the pole and will look to win their fifth championship and first since 2019. Melanzana is the two-time defending champion becoming the 9th team to win back-to-back titles and they are looking to something that has never been done and that is three peat. They will start 12th which is normal to this team that has worked its way up to the front the last two years as they dominated the 2022 race getting to the front and staying there. In Last Years Race they worked from behind and go to the front at the end when it mattered the most. In 2022 Bloomington North Graduate Grace Williams who started her career running Track and Cross Country before transferring to IU and switched to cycling was a big part of the teams win in 2022. Last Year fellow Bloomington North grad Nora Abdelkader helped, and she is the lone returner for this year’s team and will be facing a big challenge from the rest of the field in preventing the first threat peat in race history.
The Men’s Race is 200 Laps for 50 Miles and Sigma Phi Epsilon will start from the pole after leading 100 Laps and finishing third last year. The defending champions Cutters are looking to go back-to-back for the first time since 2018-19 will start sixth and return the fastest rider in the field from a year ago in Sophomore Judah Thompson. The Cutters who made the movie Breaking Away Famous have won 15 titles and a win on Saturday would make it the eight time a team has gone back-to-back. Jarno Hicks who played football at Bloomington North will ride for Phi Gamma Delta who starts in 11th Place. Last year was a sprint to the finish with the Cutters winning the dash to line. In 2020 there was no race due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and in 2021 the race was moved to late May on a Wednesday with no fans and the races held back-to-back due to restrictions. The last two years it has been back to normal with packed crowds, beautiful weather and the tradition being held the third weekend April with all the pageantry along with the pomp and circumstance that surrounds this event it will be another exciting Little 500 race weekend this year.
There are many events that led up to this weekend throughout the year. In the fall there are individual time trials, Cyclocross and Street Sprints. In the spring there are Qualifications, Individual Time Trials, Miss N Out and Team Pursuit. Teams train year around and have to meet certain rules and regulations to be eligible to compete in little 500 as a full-time undergraduate student and have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. The Little 500 is put on the by the Indiana University Student Foundation who has raised millions for Student Scholarships. In 2023 there was $62,680 raised for the Food Insecurity Fund on Campus with 581 student donors and 27 of the 33 teams meeting the patch threshold along with 15 student organization partners. It is an event that not only brings in the Indiana University but the city of Bloomington, the State of Indiana and Indiana University Alumni all together.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball announces the Signing of Bryson Tucker IU head coach Mike Woodson announced the addition of 2024 McDonald’s All-American Bryson Tucker to the Indiana men’s basketball program on Thursday. “Bryson has a chance to be impactful for our ballclub right away. He has a polished offensive game with the size and strength to get to his spots on the floor. His midrange game is very impressive, and he has the athleticism to get to and score efficiently at the rim. He is a talented young man that we cannot wait to work with when he gets to campus.” IU Head Coach Mike Woodson said.
Bryson Tucker-Forward | 6-6 | 180- Baltimore, Md. | Bishop O’Connell -No. 17 on ESPN | No. 20 on Rivals | No. 28 on 247Sports
Tucker is a consensus top-30 nationally ranked recruit with five-star designations from both ESPN and Rivals. The Baltimore, Md., native was selected to the 2024 McDonald’s All-America Game. He helped lead USA Basketball to a gold medal in the 2021 FIBA Americas Championship and averaged 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in the tournament. He also posted 11.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in the 2023 Chick-Fil-A Classic. He attended the NBPA Top 100 Camp in 2022 and ’23, Stephen Curry’s Camp in 2022 and ’23, the 2022 Under Armour Elite 24 Camp in 2022 and ’23, and Jayson Tatum’s Elite Camp in 2023.
Tucker was named honorable mention to the 2024 Naismith Trophy High School All-America Team. This season marks the fourth-straight season in which Indiana received a commitment from a player represented on a Naismith Trophy All America Team. Tamar Bates (2021) and Kel’el Ware (2022) were both honorable mentions, while Jalen Hood-Schifino (2022) and Mackenzie Mgbako (2023) each claimed third-team nods. He is the son of Byron and Tina Tucker. His father, Byron, compiled 1,033 points, 595 rebounds, and 98 blocks in 66 career games while playing collegiately for NC State and George Mason from 1988-92.
Indiana University Wrestling announces the Signing of Angelo Rini Indiana Wrestling head coach Angel Escobedo has announced that transfer Angelo Rini has officially signed with the program. Rini will join the program this fall as a graduate student with one year of eligibility remaining. Rini spent the last four seasons at Columbia wrestling at 133 lbs. He was a teammate of Indiana’s Dan Fongaro for three seasons. When at Columbia, Rini went 57-39 over his four years. In the 2023-24 campaign, Rini went 8-2 before suffering a season-ending injury in December.
Previous to that, he was a 2023 NCAA Qualifier after earning a third-place finish at the EIWA Championships. At NCAAs that year, he went 1-2 with a win over Brendan Ferretti (Navy). In the 2021-22 season, Rini compiled a 19-10 record. He did not wrestle in the 2020-21 season due to the Ivy League cancelling all athletic competition. As a freshman in 2019-20, Rini went 26-10 and earned a seventh-place finish at EIWAs. Rini is a Kirtland, Ohio native and was a standout at St. Edward High School. He was a three-time Ohio state placer and 2019 Junior Freestyle National Champion at 126 lbs. He was a member of four state championship teams at St. Edward.
Ball State University Men’s Basketball adds University of Kentucky Transfer and Linton Native Joey Hart Ball State head basketball coach Michael Lewis has announced the transfer signing of Joey Hart, a former finalist as Indiana Mr. Basketball, who signed at Kentucky prior to his freshman season last year. “Joey is someone I have followed from my first day on the job here,” said Lewis who is preparing for his third season with the Cardinals. “He is an immediate impact perimeter player that we are very excited to add at Ball State.”
Hart averaged 23.6 points and shot better than 40 percent from 3-point range while helping Linton-Stockton High School to the Class 2A State Finals as a senior in 2023. The Indiana All-Star finished his high school career with 1,901 points, 424 rebounds and 224 assists. Ball State was a finalist in his recruitment a year ago, prior to attending UK where he saw action in just seven games and nine minutes last season. The 6-5 guard was one of six finalists for Indiana’s Mr. Basketball award following his senior season at Linton-Stockton, along with his new Ball State teammates Zane Doughty and Mason Jones. Hart becomes the second transfer to sign with the Cardinals this month, following the announcement that Payton Sparks will return to Ball State via the transfer portal after spending the 2023-24 season at Indiana.
Indiana Mr. Basketball will be named on Tuesday with Six Finalists announced for the coveted award The 2024 IndyStar Mr. Basketball race is officially down to six candidates. The Mr. Basketball winner will be announced Tuesday at the Indiana High School Sports Awards banquet. Mr. Basketball, presented by the Indiana Pacers, is awarded to the senior who receives the most votes from the state’s high school coaches and media.
Jack Benter-Brownstown Central-The 6-6 Purdue recruit averaged 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists to lead Brownstown Central to a Class 2A state championship — the first in the program’s history. Benter shot 44% from the 3-point line. Benter finished his high school career with 2,550 points for his career to finish No. 11 on the state’s all-time scoring list. He went for 25 points, six rebounds and four assists in Brownstown Central’s 55-36 state championship win over Wapahani.
Flory Bidunga-Kokomo-The 6-9 Bidunga was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year for Indiana as a junior and senior and was named to the McDonald’s All-American team. The Kansas recruit averaged 19.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 4.4 blocked shots and 3.2 assists per game to help Kokomo to a 24-5 record and Class 4A regional appearance. He helped the Wildkats to a state finals appearance as a junior. Bidunga put up career totals of 1,609 points, 1,132 rebounds and 402 blocked shots while shooting 80.3% from the field in his three seasons at Kokomo.
Micah Davis-Franklin-The 6-2 Eastern Kentucky commit averaged 25.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game to lead Franklin to an 18-5 season and Class 4A sectional championship. Davis shot 53% from the field, including 37.4% (43-for-115) from the 3-point line. Davis scored 1,296 career points in three seasons and set the school record at Franklin with 43 points in a game. He was a core member of the Junior All-Star team last season after averaging 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
Kennan Garner-Fishers-The 6-6 IU Indianapolis commit averaged 15.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game as Fishers finished 29-1 and won a Class 4A state championship in his senior season. Garner had 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the state championship win over Ben Davis. He shot 58% from the field for the season. Garner, who moved to Indiana from Germany prior to his junior year, averaged 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds last season.
Evan Haywood-Brebeuf Jesuit-The 6-4 Haywood, a Butler recruit, averaged 19.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game for a team that finished 18-6 and came within a double-overtime loss to Guerin Catholic of winning a Class 3A sectional. Haywood shot 37.7% (78-for-207) from the 3-point line as a senior. As a junior, he averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Haywood finished with 822 points and 259 rebounds in his two-plus seasons.
KJ Windham-Ben Davis-The 6-4 Northwestern recruit averaged 15.4 points, 2.2 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game for a Ben Davis team that finished 23-6 and reached the Class 4A state finals. He shot 41.5% from the 3-point line (59-for-142) as a senior. Windham finished No. 4 on the all-time scoring list at Ben Davis with 1,151 career points and was part of the Giants’ Class 4A state title team as a junior.
Indy Eleven beat the Chicago Fire II in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round A fourth-minute goal was all it took for Indy Eleven to earn a 1-0 victory over MLS NEXT Pro side Chicago Fire FC II in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Third Round Wednesday evening at SeatGeek Stadium. The Boys in Blue had the pressure on early as Jack Blake connected with Douglas Martinez, who found himself behind the Chicago backline inside the 18 for the tally. The goal was the second for Martinez across all competitions this season and the first assist for Blake. Eighty-six minutes of scoreless soccer followed as Indy Eleven was able to advance to the Round of 32 with its first shutout of the season. Yannik Oettl secured 11 saves for the visitors. Offensively, Indy was led by Martinez, with three shots, and Elliot Collier, with a pair. The win gave Indy its first U.S. Open Cup Road win and brought the Boys in Blue’s all-time U.S. Open Cup record to 5-7-1. Indy Eleven returns to USL Championship action Saturday when it takes to the road to face Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
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