Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University women's triathlon enters its second semester ready to build from a second-place finish at the 2021 D2 national championships. On Sunday, the Bulldog women host Queens and Delaware State for a 9 a.m. exhibition meet. The Wingate men's club triathlon team will also participate, entertaining their guests from Queens.
 
Meet information
Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022 (9 a.m. start)

Bike: 16K bike race (WU Tennis Facility)
Swim: 500-yard pool swim (WU Natatorium)
Run: 3200-meter track run (Irwin Belk Track at Graham Gill Field)
 
Meet order
 
MEN-Queens
MEN-Wingate club team
WOMEN-Queens
WOMEN-Wingate
WOMEN-Delaware State
 
What to Expect
 
"We have a little twist from our September meet," Wingate head women's triathlon coach Nick Radkewich says. "We will stagger the start…from our previous meet, so we can identify the winner more quickly at the end of the race."
 
Radkewich's brain trust has invented a spreadsheet app, so meet officials can track the results more efficiently. As interest grows in triathlon, Radkewich hopes fans will continue to embrace his emerging sport.
 
"This is our non-traditional season for women's triathlon," Radkewich says. "We are gearing up for two big races in Florida next month with All-Americans Finja Schierl and Julia Kekkonen leading the way."
 
Looking back at 2021

Finja Schierl won the individual national championship at the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championships in November. On the team charts, the Bulldogs finished second to six-time national champion Queens University of Charlotte. Julia Kekkonen finished fourth on the individual leader board, while Carla Larrabeiti Jefferson claimed 23rd place. Wingate celebrated its first women's triathlon season in 2021.
 
The aforementioned trio was recognized by the Collegiate Triathlon Coaches Association (CTCA) as Division II Scholar All-Americans. Kekkonen and Schierl made the first team, while Jefferson was recognized with Scholar All-American honorable mention laurels. The Bulldogs were named a CTCA Scholar All-American team as well.
 
"More relaxed"
 
Radkewich admits the second semester is a more relaxed atmosphere for his women's team. "We are working hard to be ready for our Florida races (in March)," Radkewich says. "We tell the student-athletes…'now is the time to catch up on your academics…take the extra class…take the hard class.'"
 
National teams
 
Wingate has six student-athletes who are affiliated with their home country's national team. Schierl (Germany) and Kekkonen (Finland) both have extensive national experience. Four men's club team members represent their home countries as well.
 
Marcelo Delgado Landazuri and Martin Garcia Corral compete for Ecuador. Fellow freshmen Vorawuth (Pun Pun) Pattrakulchai (Thailand) and Pablo Abad (Spain) are new members of their respective national teams.
 
Abad and Pattrakulchai will wear their national team's jerseys for the first time during Wingate's two March events. The men's club team is preparing for its championship season, which culminates with the 2022 Collegiate Club USA Triathlon national championships March 31 and April 1 in Lake Lanier, Georgia.
 
What They Are Saying
Q&A with Wingate freshman Julia Kekkonen 
 
Q-What goals do you and your teammates have entering this spring season?
 
A-Personally my goal for this spring is to get good, high-quality training in and race at my best, while building my fitness towards summer and the important races of the season.
 
Q-Coach Radkewich stresses the importance of academics for your team. How is your academic journey progressing?
 
A-Academically, this semester is going to be more challenging than the fall, due to many important and interesting exercise science major requirement courses.
 
Q-Talk about your national team involvement…what is the best thing about representing your country…both internationally and through your time at Wingate?
 
A-Representing a small country brings some advantages and disadvantages. Pros are definitely the possibility to get into races more easily without having to be first qualified separately in our own country like in some countries. Also, a con is that we have to financially support everything ourselves in case we want to race…the federation does not really help with this.
 
Being at Wingate University brings opportunities to race internationally. For example, Wingate will compete in three races in two weekends during our trip to Florida (in March). This would not be possible if I was back home at this time, since it would be too expensive to travel this far for races.
 
Wingate University
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a laboratory of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina. Wingate offers 37 undergraduate majors as well as eight master's and five doctoral degrees. 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 a leader in healthcare education, and nearly one in five Wingate undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 24 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.