Winston-Salem, N.C.----The Wingate University track and field teams posted two first-place finishes at the JDL Fast Track Championship Tune-Up Saturday. Graduate student Justin Gragg (Collettsville, N.C.) won the 3000 meters (8:34.12), while senior Andrew Nallenweg (Asheville, N.C.) won the shot put (14.78 meters). The meet concludes the inaugural indoor season for head track and field coach Joe Soehnlen and his Bulldogs.
 
Gragg outdistanced 20 student-athletes ran in the men’s 3000 meters Saturday. He held a three-second advantage over the second-place runner from Wake Forest. Nallenweg was one of 12 throwers in the shot put. For the Wingate women, junior Candra Mathis (Harrisburg, N.C.) was second in the long jump (5.21 meters), while sophomore Christina Matheny (Akron, Ohio) was second in the high jump (1.60 meters).

            “I felt overall the entire team performed very well Saturday,” Soehnlen says. “On the men’s side, additional highlights include junior Astute Evans (High Point, N.C.) provisionally qualifying in the triple jump. Both Justin Gragg and sophomore Tyler Lee (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) narrowly missed qualifying in the 3000 meters and the 60 meter high hurdles (8.32), respectively.” 
 
“Justin Gragg and Andrew Nallenweg picking up their victories…is a huge accomplishment for our program,” Soehnlen says. “Considering the level of competition they faced Saturday, this is a feather in our caps.”
 
“On the women’s side, two highlights would be Candra Mathis placing second in the long jump and freshman Brooke Cull (North Shore, New Zealand) running very well in the 200 meters,” Soehnlen says. “Our women’s team is really starting to round into shape. We are definitely setting ourselves up to have some great performances in the outdoor season.”
 
Evans led a three-four-five finish for the Bulldogs in the men’s triple jump. Evans recorded a leap of 14.29 meters. He was followed by freshman Wayne Dawkins (13.15 meters, Heidelberg, Germany) and junior Danny Blue (12.99 meters, Baltimore, Md.). Blue and Dawkins were fourth (6.46 meters) and fifth (6.36 meters), respectively, in the long jump.
 
Bulldog sophomore George Williams (Fayetteville, N.C.) was third in the men’s high jump (1.93 meters). Junior teammate Jesse Lavelle (Greensboro, N.C.) was fourth in the weight throw (14.19 meters). Wingate’s 4x400 meter relay team claimed a bronze medal with a time of 3:26.94.
 
The Bulldog 4x400 meter relay team members include graduate student James Robinson (Raleigh, N.C.), junior Michael Nelli (Charlotte, N.C.) and sophomores Cole Henderson (Elon, N.C.) and Corey Silvestri (Charlotte, N.C.). Robinson was fifth in the 800 meters with his 1:58.08 posting. Henderson was fifth in the 200 meters (22.90), while Silvestri was sixth in the 400 meters (52.03).
 
Cull posted a 200-meter time of 27.21 in an extremely competitive field. Wingate freshman Catherine Brown (Jacksonville, N.C.) pushed Matheny in the high jump, placing third with her leap of 1.50 meters. Bulldog junior Jillian Malloy (West Hampton Beach, N.Y.) was fifth in the long jump (4.93 meters).
 
The women’s 4x400 meter relay team made a strong showing with a third-place finish in the College/Open category (4:13.77). Cull ran the first leg for the Bulldogs. She was followed by freshman Abigail Bost (Burlington, N.C.) and juniors JaLisha Little (Charlotte, N.C.) and Courtney Rainey (Concord, N.C.).
 
The Wingate women’s throwers had a solid day. Junior Sammantha Schruise (Stony Point, N.C.) was fourth in the shot put (10.48 meters), while sophomore DaMonique McClure (Charlotte, N.C.) was fifth in the weight throw competition (10.99 meters).
 
Soehnlen knows his team is ready for the next adventure. “The team is definitely ready to shift gears and begin to focus on the upcoming outdoor season,” Soehnlen says. “This indoor season definitely gave them the opportunity to see where their potential lies.”