Wingate, N.C.----Women's triathlon came on the scene at Wingate University as the school's 23rd NCAA sport in June of 2020. Once head coach Nick Radkewich was hired in October of the same year, the 2000 Olympian hit the ground running to put together his first Bulldog team for fall of 2021.
 
As with any new endeavor, Radkewich and his new protégés have experienced many firsts. Sunday in the Bulldog Team Sprint exhibition at Wingate, the 2021 NCAA team silver medalists had a two-bike crash, a squad first.
 
"Hard to Avoid"
 
"Crashes are hard to avoid," Radkewich says. "Every team suffers bike crashes. Today's crash took two of our student-athletes out of the competition. We will learn lessons from this…about bike handling, in particular. We are thankful that the two student-athletes, Judit Ibarra Cazorla and Carla Larrabeiti Jefferson, are both on the road to recovery."
 
Accentuating the positives
 
Sunday's Bulldog Team Sprint exhibition included the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold-clad hosts, six-time D2 national champion Queens University of Charlotte and first-year D1 program Delaware State University. As with every race to date, Radkewich found positives in his team's efforts.
 
"Freshmen Dylan Kirchner and Sophia Massano both improved times in the swim and run portions from our September home event," Radkewich says. "The course and conditions were similar…they both came up big for us. This is great to see as we regroup for our two Florida races."
 
Sunshine State two-for-one
 
The spring semester is the non-championship season for women's triathlon, but the Bulldogs will keep busy preparing for two sanctioned competitions. On March 6, Wingate's full roster will participate in the Clermont Draft Legal Challenge in Clermont, Florida. Freshman All-Americans Julia Kekkonen (Finland) and Finja Schierl (Germany) will compete in the 2022 Americas Triathlon Cup Sarasota-Bradenton event (in Sarasota, Florida) on March 12.
 
Making connections
 
Radkewich keeps busy making connections on Wingate's campus and beyond, selling his sport to anyone who will listen. Radkewich was all ears when Wingate's Athletic Foundation and Bulldog Club director Bill Nash talked to the WU head coaches about a new initiative called the Team Ambassadors program.
 
Still in its infancy, the Team Ambassadors program connects Wingate alumni and friends to one of the school's 24 sports teams. The Ambassadors are bound by NCAA guidelines, but they can be a valuable resource for raising a sport's profile, especially one like women's triathlon, which is new to most Bulldog faithful.
 
Making connections, part two
 
Radkewich's first Ambassador is WU Football All-American Chris Brewer ('05). 'Coach Rad' and Brewer connected over a mutual love for triathlon, among other things. Radkewich has reached out to multiple Bulldogs who enjoy the biking, swimming and running aspects of his beloved sport. He uses the hashtag #alumniwhotri to celebrate Wingate faithful who compete in triathlons around the USA and the globe.
 
"Awareness and engagement"
 
Brewer has big plans for his role with the Wingate triathlon teams, the women's intercollegiate squad and the men's club team.

"As a team ambassador, my hope is to help grow awareness and engagement in the triathlon community," Brewer says. "Over the last four years, triathlon has truly changed my life and I want others to feel the same. As a former collegiate student-athlete, I was a little lost after I left college. Being an athlete had been a major part of my identity for my entire life, so as I left college I wasn't quite sure what to do next, physically. I gained over 70 pounds and began to feel lost."
 
Rediscovering his identity
 
Brewer and Radkewich have shared a bike ride or two since the latter's arrival at Wingate. The previous Bulldog punter and placekicker says Radkewich helped him find his way following a tough time in his life. "Eventually, it took cancer to make me realize that I had lost my identity," Brewer says. "Luckily, I survived and knew that something had to change."
 
"Once I began training for triathlon it was as if the clouds parted." Brewer says. "I began to think more clearly, became a better father and a better husband. As an ambassador, I hope to not only spread this message, but also to help guide these student-athletes as they transition into the real world. Mentoring these collegiate athletes away from the mistakes I made post-college is something that matters a lot to me."
 
Friend raising and fundraising

"Friend raising and fundraising will also be two areas of focus," Brewer says. "Triathlon does not have the funding that many other sports do. We'll need to spread the joys of triathlon in order to spread awareness and my hope is that the funding will follow. Coach Rad is exactly what Wingate needs to kick off what is sure to be a long award-winning and celebrated sport at the school!"
 
Talking the talk and walking the walk
 
Brewer knows as he gets more involved in his beloved alma mater's Team Ambassador program, he must set an example. When the Wingate women's triathlon team visits Florida in March, Brewer and his wife Whitney and three daughters will host a couple of Bulldogs in their home, helping Radkewich with his bottom line, but more notably, allowing the Brewer family to share their lives with future WU alumni.
 
Making connections, part three
 
"It's always a special experience to connect with alumni interested in the sport you coach," Radkewich says. "In the case of Chris in particular, but also for other Bulldog alumni…triathlon is a lifetime sport. They may have played football, tennis or just attended Wingate, but later in life they take up triathlon. It's a special opportunity to have alumni competing as contemporaries."
 
Men's club team shines in Bulldog Team Sprint exhibition
 
Radkewich is also responsible for the Wingate men's club triathlon team. On Sunday, the Bulldogs competed toe-to-toe with Queens University of Charlotte, the 2019 USAT men's national champions. Freshman Pablo Abad tied for seventh in the Bulldog Team Sprint exhibition, while classmate Martin Garcia Corral finished ninth.
 
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.
 
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.