On Friday, April 19, DePauw kicked off Little 5 with sprints on Anderson Street. Contestants were from a variety of fraternities and sororities, with a couple of independent riders as well. Food trucks lined the lawn outside Mason Hall, teeming with students excited to eat french fries, chicken wings and more. Music filled the air as the atmosphere buzzed with anticipation and people gathered at the fences to watch the first races of Little 5.
This year’s winners were Audrey Young from Alpha Phi and Jenna Newton from Kappa Alpha Theta in the women’s sprints. Claire Cation ‘24, from Kappa Alpha Theta, remarked that it was thrilling to be on the other end of the races, since she biked last year. She appreciated everyone coming together post-COVID and enjoyed the sense of community and exhilaration it brought. Cation was cheering on her younger sisters at Theta and was proud to see them compete and win.
The men’s sprints had winners Ethan Williams from Sigma Chi and Kazuki Aoyama from Delta Upsilon. Tapan Mandal ‘26 from Sigma Chi loved the Greek unity that Little 5 created, and cheered the loudest for Ethan Williams and Johnny Marshall who were representing his fraternity. He also stated that this was the first time in a while that Little 5 had been this big, and it was truly overflowing with energy, as well as people.
Other participants were affiliated with Alpha Chi Omega, Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma sororities, as well as Delta Tau Delta, Fiji, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Nu, Beta Theta Pi and Phi Kappa Psi fraternities. Their brothers and sisters were wearing team merchandise and cheering themselves hoarse on the sidelines, each race filled with groans of defeat and whoops of joy alike. Astrid Mirza ‘27, for whom the event was a first, especially enjoyed the food trucks and time spent with friends. They mentioned that they didn’t really watch the race, but preferred to bask in the effervescent vigor that surrounded them. Abigail McBride ‘25 stated that she only gets to watch the sprints because the weekend is a busy time for her, and wished that the carnival from last year could have been there this time too.
Despite the unusual chill and cloudy day, Little 5 started off with a bang and carried over the excitement to Saturday. In the lead up to finals week, it provided a weekend full of energy, community and healthy competition.