Clearwater, Fla.----The Wingate University men's and women's swimming teams finished the Spartan Invitational with a bang, winning four events and collecting two silver medals and three  bronze medals Thursday at the Long Center in Clearwater (complete results). The Bulldogs had 11 NCAA B cuts Thursday night with one NCAA provisional relay swim.
 
The University of Tampa hosted this nine-school, 17-team Spartan Invite. The number seven Wingate women led wire-to-wire, defeating eight teams with 1128 points. Number eight Tampa was second with 876.5 points, while number 14 West Florida was third with 710.5 points. On the men's side, number 14 Tampa won the eight-team event with 1308 points. Number eight Wingate was second with 798 points, while Indian River State was third with 558 points.
 
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH KIRK SANOCKI
 
"Throughout our season, we are always looking to prepare for our championship run when conference crowns and NCAA invites are on the line. One of the key ingredients to accomplish these tasks is having the ability to close out the four-day competition, much the same way team sports want to close out the fourth quarter or last five minutes of a close game. Today, we accomplished this with our best finals performance of the week."
 
"We are very optimistic that our seasonal plan is coming together. Overall, our performances tonight and all week have been fantastic. A number of our first-year swimmers grew tremendously this week, following the lead of our returning top performers. We are hoping to use this momentum when we return after the Christmas break. Many lifetime best times along with additional cuts have us all smiles for our student-athletes hard work!"
 
#7 Wingate women Thursday PM highlights

Sophomore Kate Agger (1650 Freestyle), sophomore Anna Miram (200 Backstroke) and junior Anne-Sofie Nissen (200 Breaststroke) set the tone with individual victories. The Wingate 400 Freestyle Relay team sealed the deal, posting an NCAA provisional qualifying time (3:23.79) on the way to a gold medal in the meet's final event.

1650 Freestyle
 
First-Sophomore Kate Agger (Broomall, Pa., 16:52.68, NCAA B cut)
Fourth-Sophomore Louise Hallden (Stocksund, Sweden, 17:23.09, NCAA B cut)
Won C Final-Junior Sydney Smith (Roanoke, Va., 18:03.02)
 
100 Freestyle
Sixth-Senior Abby Kosic (West Chester, Pa., 52.13)
 
200 Backstroke
First-Sophomore Anna Miram (Ludvika, Sweden, 1:58.26, NCAA B cut)
Second-Junior Maddie Carson (Pineville, La., 2:01.04, NCAA B cut)
Sixth-Junior Kelley Jones (Suwanee, Ga., 2:04.44)
Won C Final-Freshman Caroline Howard (Florence, S.C., 2:05.74)
 
200 Breaststroke
First-Junior Anne-Sofie Nissen (Copenhagen, Denmark, 2:15.24, NCAA B cut)
Fourth-Junior Maike Hoener (Langlingen, Germany, 2:16.58, NCAA B cut)
Fifth-Freshman Lily Sanocki (Charlotte, N.C., 2:19.20, NCAA B cut)
Eighth-Junior Sara Aringsmann (Holzkirchen, Germany, 2:22.11)
Won C Final-Junior Jaimy Wenhold (Brookeville, Md., 2:22.38)
 
400 Freestyle Relay
First-Wingate A (3:23.79, NCAA provisional mark)
Fourth-Wingate B (3:29.48)
Sixth-Wingate C (3:30.93)
 
Wingate A team members: Sara Aringsmann, Maike Hoener, Abby Kosic and senior captain Leticia Odorici (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
 
Wingate B team members: Kelley Jones, sophomore Rachel Kriger (Germantown, Tenn.), Anne-Sofie Nissen and Anna Miram
 
Wingate C team members: Freshman Grace Williams (Ridgecrest, Calif.), senior captain Ebba Stillman (Huskvarna, Sweden), Louise Hallden and senior Mathilde Cros (Pont de L'arn, France)
 
#8 Wingate men Thursday PM highlights


The Bulldogs finished the night on a high note, collecting a silver medal in the 400 Freestyle Relay (3:01.02). Senior captain Markus Furst swam the first leg. He was joined by juniors Iran Almeida and Aaron Bowman and freshman Marcel Snitko.
 
1650 Freestyle
Third-Sophomore Felix Grieb (Murr, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, 15:50.90, NCAA B cut)
Fifth-Sophomore Jonas Soerensen (Aabyhøj, Denmark, 15:57.61, NCAA B cut)
Seventh-Sophomore Max Sundberg (Upplands Väsby, Sweden, 16:02.76)
 
100 Freestyle
Sixth-Senior captain Markus Furst (Jönköping, Sweden, 45.76)
Eighth-Junior Aaron Bowman (Thomasville, N.C., 46.36)
Won B Final-Junior Iran Almeida (Roanoke, Va., 45.43, NCAA B cut)
 
200 Backstroke
Fourth-Junior David Granados Doblas (Olot, Spain, 1:49.07, NCAA B cut)
Eighth-Sophomore Daniel Brisuda (Cumming, Ga., 1:55.75)
Won C Final-Freshman Frederik Oscar Moller (Chalottenlund, Denmark, 1:50.91)
 
100 Breaststroke
Third-Senior Giacomo Viazzo (Lonato del Gardo, Italy, 1:58.55, NCAA B cut)
 
400 Freestyle Relay
Second-Wingate A (3:01.02)
Seventh-Wingate B (3:05.19)

Wingate A team members: Markus Furst, Iran Almeida, Aaron Bowman and freshman Marcel Snitko (Bad Zwischenahn, Germany)
 
Wingate B team members: Frederik Oscar Moller, freshman Bennett Broad (Richardson, Texas), freshman Ethan Hathcock (Seymour, Tenn.) and freshman Kevon Lockhart (Nassau, Bahamas)
 
NEXT ON THE HORIZON
 
Both Bulldog teams will take a break for the Christmas holidays. The Wingate women host NCAA Division I Gardner-Webb Friday, Jan. 10, 2020 at 4 p.m. The Bulldog men visit Gardner-Webb Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
A comprehensive, independent and growing university, Wingate serves more than 3,600 students in North Carolina. Founded in 1896, the University offers 37 undergraduate majors as well as graduate and professional programs. Wingate is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences. Wingate blends in-class exploration with out-of-class application to deliver an uncommon and life-changing educational experience.
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 13 years. Wingate is first in the 2000s among NCAA Division II and North Carolina's colleges and universities with 115 CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 124 lifetime Academic All-America® honorees. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com. Current news and videos can be found at www.wingate.edu.