RESULTS | Flames Invitational 

Cleveland, Tenn.----The Wingate University men's track and field team finished tied for 11th place in the 33-team Flames Invitational held Friday and Saturday at the Lee University Multi-Sport Complex. Wingate had 18 points, tying NCAA Division I Campbell. Tiffin (Ohio) earned the team crown with 156 points.
 
Bulldog graduate student Tai Smith finished third in the men's 5000 meters with a new school-record time of 14:00.07 Friday. Smith's NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time is the best mark in the South Atlantic Conference this season and places him fourth on the national charts.
 
Wingate junior Darius Weathers matched Smith with his third-place performance in the men's triple jump Friday. Weathers' mark of 14.71 meters is tops in the SAC this spring. The leap is also an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying triple jump. Weathers' career-best triple jump mark is 15.36 meters, achieved at the 2019 NCAA championship meet.

Freshman Bastian Mrochen joined Smith by posting an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time in the men's 5000 meters Friday. Mrochen's time of 14:19.10 is second only to Smith on the 2021 SAC charts. Classmate Jakob Rettschlag moved to number three on the SAC 1500 meters charts with his Flames Invite time of 3:51.52 Friday.
 
Graduate student Elliot Zirwas broke his school record in the men's shot put with his mark of 17.02 meters Saturday. His NCAA Division II provisional qualifying effort is the second-best shot put mark in the SAC this year. Senior Tucker Mullis moves to third on the 2021 SAC shot put list, thanks to personal-best effort of 15.67 meters Saturday.
 
Flames Invitational, hosted by Lee (Tenn.) University
Wingate men's track and field podium finishes
 
Friday Field
Men's Triple Jump, 3rd, Darius Weathers, 14.71 meters
 
Friday Running
Men's 1500 meters, 6th, Jakob Rettschlag, 3:51.52
Men's 5000 meters, 3rd, Tai Smith, 14:00.07
Men's 5000 meters, 8th, Bastian Mrochen, 14:19.10
 
Saturday Field
Men's Shot Put, 7th, Elliot Zirwas, 17.02 meters
 
Saturday Running
Men's 400-meter Hurdles, 9th, Demond Cooper, 57.39

Just the facts...Wingate top 10 outdoor performances this weekend
 
Jan Bayona, 10000m, 30:53.93 #5
Gerhard Bezuidenhout, 800m, 1:57.69 #8
Soheil Boufrizi, Steeplechase, 9:30.91 #3
Demond Cooper, 110m Hurdles, 14.98 #2
Jereamy Hall, 5000m, 14:29.57, #4 (NCAA Provisional Qualifier)
Dalton Miles, Steeplechase, 9:48.40 #5
Bastian Mrochen, 5000m, 14:19.10 #2 (NCAA Provisional Qualifier)
Tucker Mullis, Shot Put, 15.67m #2
Jacob Pickering, 10000m, 31:20.17 #6
Jakob Rettschlag, 1500m, 3:51.52 #2
Elliot Richards, 1500m, 3:58.83 #6
Yonas Sauers, 10000m, 32:33.45 #10
Tai Smith, 5000m, 14:00.07 (School Record, NCAA Provisional Qualifier)
Brent Surratt, Steeplechase, 9:37.11 #4
Jake Tyndale, 800m, 1:57.83 #9
Saul Valdez, 10000m, 31:47.76 #8
Darius Weathers, Triple Jump, 14.71m (NCAA Provisional Qualifier)
Elliot Zirwas, Shot Put, 17.02m (School Record, NCAA Provisional Qualifier)
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a laboratory of difference-making that serves more than 3,600 students in North Carolina. Wingate offers 36 undergraduate majors as well as six master's and four doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences; the Levine College of Health Sciences; the Byrum School of Business; and the College of Professional Studies, which includes the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Wingate is the leading healthcare education provider in western North Carolina, and nearly one in five Wingate undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Athletes on Wingate's 23 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award for 13 years straight. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.