Phoenix Cycling’s Tabitha Sherwood and Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Joe Krahulik were the class of the women’s and men’s fields, respectively, claiming Individual Time Trial titles Wednesday night.

Sherwood timed in at 2:35.48, the lowest time since Kristi Hewitt ran a record 2:34.0 in 2009 for Wing It. That time was good enough to edge Kristen Bignal of Delta Gamma (2.36.98) and Kappa Alpha Theta’s Grace Bennett (2:37.98).

Krahulik finished his ITT run in 2:17.24, which is the second-best time in Little 500 ITT history, only trailing Hans Arnesen’s 2:15.78 from his ride with Alpha Tau Omega in 2005. Delta Tau Delta’s Luke Tormoehlen (2:19.60) was second and Cutters’ Nick Thiery (2:20.68) was third.

Sherwood’s ITT win was further proof that she hasn’t lost her footing among the class of the field. After finishing second back-to-back times, including with a fractured hip last season, she was able to break through for her first individual win in her fourth and final attempt.

Krahulik, only a sophomore, turned some heads with his time. The young rider has quickly made a name for himself despite having only one race under his belt.

Though Sherwood and Krahulik proved to be the class of the field, the weather was a dominant story throughout the day. Early on, strong winds and overcast skies made for difficult but manageable conditions until the skies opened up and rain started to fall around the same time to highest seeded riders were set to take the track.

At one point, the ITTs were delayed for about 45 minutes due to lightning strikes in the area. By the time the lightning stopped, the rain started again making for ever-changing track conditions that brought a mixed bag of results.

Some riders who stopped in the press box said the track was incredibly slow in the latter stages of the day. Others who went at nearly identical said it was as good as the track could get. The only certainty was that there was a variance in the way riders kept up with the conditions.

From a team perspective, Kappa Alpha Theta was thee most impressive team of the women’s field placing five riders in the top-14 spots. Bennett led the charge from third but was joined by Abby Rogers (6), Evelyn Malcolm (7), Rachel Brown (12) and Madeline Lambert (14).

Alpha Omicron Pi wasn’t too far behind with four riders in the top-15. Leigh Dukeman led the way from fourth spot, followed by Audrey Healey (9), Ali Oppel (10) and Michaela Ranft (15).

Not surprisingly, Black Key Bulls once again flexed its depth with seven riders in the top-23 spots. Charlie Hammon led the way for “The Peoples’ Champs” in fifth, followed by Nicholas Hartman (7), Spencer Brauchla (8), Xavier Martinez (13), Kevin Mangel (15), Noah Voyles (19) and Michael Chettleburgh (23).

Sigma Alpha Epsilon had Mitchell Sassemar and Andrew Krahulik join Joe Krahulik in 17th and 18th, respectively. Cutters put a pair of riders in the top-10 with Thiery in third and Erik “Trevor” Schwedland in 10th.

By the end of the night, separating teams was rather difficult. Considering the way the weather may or may have not changed the ITT outcomes and the relative parity across the top-25, no teams in particular established themselves as obvious front runners. For that, we may have to wait until at least Miss-N-Outs is over.

Until then, ITTs belonged to Sherwood and Krahulik. Because fast is fast.

 

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Women’s Top 25

1. Tabitha Sherwood, Phoenix, 2:35.48
2. Kristen Bignal, Delta Gamma, 2:36.98
3. Grace Bennett, Kappa Alpha Theta, 2:37.98
4. Leigh Dukeman, Alpha Omicron Pi, 2:38.89
5. Megan Hulbregtse, Ski, 2:39.20
6. Abby Rogers, Kappa Alpha Theta, 2:39.62
7. Evelyn Malcolm, Kappa Alpha Theta, 2:39.84
8. Julia Thomas, Teter, 2:40.30
9. Audrey Healey, Alpha Omicron Pi, 2:41.01
10. Ali Oppel, Alpha Omicron Pi, 2:41.02
11. Ashley Williams, Ski, 2:41.04
12. Rachel Brown, Kappa Alpha Theta, 2:41.33
13. Eliza Heath, Teter, 2:41.36
14. Madeline Lambert, Kappa Alpha Theta, 2:41.45
15. Michaela Ranft, Alpha Omicron Pi, 2:41.89
16. Fallon Lilly, Melanzana Cycling, 2:42.33
17. Kelsey Kluesner, Teter, 2:42.52
18. Alexandra Kolar, Alpha Chi Omega, 2:42.75
19. Sarah Rivich, Delta Gamma, 2:43.23
20. Brooke Hannon, CSF, 2:44.83
21. Jess McKune, Kappa Delta, 2:44.94
22. Lauren Brand, Phoenix, 2:45.06
23. Libby Momper, Kappa Delta, 2:45.15
24. Melissa Ragatz, Phoneix, 2:46.44
25. Nicole COughlan, Phi Mu, 2:47.16

 

Men’s Top 25

1. Joe Krahulik, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 2:17.24
2. Luke Tormoehlen, Delta Tau Delta, 2:19.60
3. Nick Thiery, Cutters, 2:20.68
4. Kyle Knight, Beta Theta Pi, 2:20.71
5. Charlie Hammon, Black Key Bulls, 2:21.38
6. Ryan Romenesko, Phi Delta Theta, 2:21.93
7. Nicholas Hartman, Black Key Bulls, 2:20.50
8. Spencer Brauchla, Black Key Bulls, 2:22.80
9. Joseph Hunt, Forest Cycling, 2:23.54
10. Erik “Trevor” Schwedland, Cutters, 2:24.27
11. Evan Zehr, Wright Cycling, 2:24.70
12. Rob Lee, Phi Delta Theta, 2:24.87
13. Xavier Martinez, Black Key Bulls, 2:25.19
14. Chase Van Halen, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2:25.27
15. Kevin Mangel, Black Key Bulls, 2:25.28
16. James Welch, Gray Goat, 2:25.65
17. Mitchell Sassemar, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 2:26.31
18. Andrew Krahulik, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 2:26.56
19. Noah Voyles, Black Key Bulls, 2:26.63
20. Jeff Gough, Lambda Chi Alpha, 2:26.96
21. Sam Anderson, Sigma Phi Epsilon, 2:27.21
22. Jeremy Crawford, Sigma Nu, 2:27.39
23. Abel Berrera Duran, Delta Chi, 2:28.02
24. Michael Chettleburgh, Black Key Bulls, 2:28.02
25. Daniel Cox, Sigma Phi Epsilon, 2:28.33

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