Hall of Fame
Kirk Sanocki has logged 22 seasons as the head swimming coach at Wingate with 22 campaigns guiding the women's team and 18 mentoring the men's squad. Twice the NCAA Division II national Coach of the Year (women in 2016, men in 2012), Sanocki has coached Wingate student-athletes to 600 All-American swims. The Bulldogs have 45 NCAA national championship swims during his tenure (31 for the women, 14 with the men).
"I would like to thank the Wingate SHOF committee for this honor," Sanocki says. "I've been very fortunate to convince a great deal of talented student-athlete swimmers and divers, along with many outstanding young coaches, to believe in our pursuit of excellence. The past two decades-plus have been very rewarding to me, getting to witness the outstanding accomplishments in and out of the pool. We have achieved a great deal together and I couldn't be more proud of the faith our teams and administration had in me to help our athletes achieve their goals. I will always cherish our time together and feel blessed to have watched swimmers from all over the globe come together to call Wingate home while pursuing their formal education. Your growth as men and women, then, now, and in the future will always be my greatest pleasure. I'm truly honored to be inducted into Wingate's Sports Hall of Fame as a reflection of our time together. WU What?"
At the NCAA championship meet, the Wingate women have earned second-place once (2016) and third-place twice. The Bulldog men have finished fifth once and sixth five times. The Wingate women have 10 top-10 national finishes in the last 11 years, while the men have 12 top-10 national finishes over the last 15 seasons. Sanocki and the Bulldogs collected 11 Bluegrass Mountain Conference championships and the first two South Atlantic Conference crowns during the 2023 league meet. He swept the SAC Coach of the Year awards last season. Previously, Sanocki earned 12 BMC Coach of the Year honors.
Thirty-six WUSWIM student-athletes have earned Academic All-America honors from the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA). Sanocki has given back to his sport by serving as the chair of the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Committee in 2023. He served as president of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) from 2014-16. Sanocki also served a term as president of the BMC.
