RESULTS | 2024 Sandling Beach Triathlon Festival results
 
Wake Forest, N.C.----The Wingate University men's triathlon club team finished first in the USPC Draft Legal Triathlon Festival by Kinetic Multisports, winning the overall title for the MACTC championships. The Bulldogs defeated rival Queens University of Charlotte for the crown.
 
The athletes raced a draft-legal super sprint, completing a 375 meter open water swim, 10 kilometer run, and 2 kilometer run. Draft legal means that the competitors are allowed to draft with each other on the bike course. Each member of the Bulldog team completed the race in under 28 minutes. 
 
Graduate student Xoel Rodriguez took the overall victory with a time of 26:19. "We knew that any of us could get the win today and this was just about staying on the race," Rodriguez says. "I took my shot and it paid off. I broke the tape today but it was all of us, every day, every session, during the whole semester that led to the win. I am very thankful for the team that we have." 
 
Junior Jack Spence placed third for the day, being the second and last scoring member of the team. "The pace was relentless from the word go," Spence says. "The course was very demanding and it took a lot of grit to position yourself well. The team did just that with it all coming down to a sprint off on the run. I was very happy for my teammate and friend Xoel for taking the win." 

For the draft legal format, only the top two finishers score for the team. To win, the Bulldogs had to get their first two athletes across the finish line before the first two athletes of Queens University of Charlotte. The team had four finishers before Queens had their two finishers.
 
What They Are Saying
Wingate head coach Nick Radkewich
 
"The men came into the race as if the score was 0-0. They were focused on winning this race. Team captain Xoel Rodriguez took the lead on the bike and I thought he had a chance from there, but the group caught him and he came into T2 a little behind. Xoel had an amazing run and earned a championship individually and made a huge impact on the team score."
 
"Jack Spence closed out the team scoring in third place. Overall, the team raced strong while repeating the championship victory and setting the team up for winter training towards the national championship in March at Homestead Speedway in Miami."
 
(Editor's note: Wingate University senior men's club triathlon student-athlete Asher Lauderdale contributed this article.)