Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University sophomore men's club triathlete Lucas Wright (Ellicott City, Md.) is calling the weekend of October 10-11 his "wild weekend of triathlon." He raced with the Bulldog team in its conference non-draft championships Saturday, October 10 and the XTERRA junior world championships Sunday, October 11.
 
Wright helped Wingate win its event Saturday in Virginia. After an eventful trip to New Mexico, he won the XTERRA junior worlds on Sunday. The Wingate athletic communications office caught up with Wright in the afterglow of his weekend. A transcript of his thoughts follows.
 
The wild week of triathlon…actually isn't over yet…
 
To be honest, my wild week isn't over yet, because we still have our draft legal conference championships this Saturday, October 17 in Georgia. This adventure started when I realized there would be a conflict between conference non-draft champs and XTERRA junior world champs. For many this would be an easy decision, for me it wasn't.
 
I really value this team, and I believe that being made a captain my sophomore year truly shows how much I care about this team and its success. For those reasons, the fact that I want to be present to lead our team is important…and I just had a strong gut feeling…so I decided to race both.
 
Though it meant missing out on awards and traveling back to Wingate with the team, I would be present for the lead-up and present to make a difference with my points, too. We left Friday morning, drove six hours, previewed the course, ate a big Italian dinner and went to bed.
 
The gun went off at 9:05 a.m. EDT sharp Saturday and I immediately found myself at the pointy end of the race, on the hunt for another team conference title. I came out of the water first, found myself in third position coming off the bike and did what my team needed me to do on the run.
 
A teammate came past me right at the start of the run, in pursuit of the top Queens University of Charlotte runner, and I found myself on the hunt for the current second place Queens guy on the road. I caught him within the first lap and then began to focus on the team title.
 
I remember running past a teammate on the run going the opposite direction (the course was an out and back) and yelled 'come on Jake, we need you up there!' Little did I know how true that would be. Only the top four on our team score and he was running in fifth from our team but our fourth-place athlete was disqualified and Jake ended up being the fourth score from our team and the person who broke the tie for the conference title.
 
Sadly, the moment I finished the race, I had to immediately cool down, pack up and leave the race and my amazing team behind before I could celebrate and attend the award ceremony with them. The second leg of my journey was only beginning.
 
The journey to New Mexico…
 
My family and I drove to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., connected through Chicago and arrived in Albuquerque, only to have to drive three more hours to the race site. We left conference champs at 11:30 a.m. EDT, and arrived in Ruidoso, N.M. at 11:30 p.m. MDT…this felt like 1:30 a.m. EDT to my body coming from the East Coast.
 
I was then up at 6:30 a.m. MDT, hardly an ideal sleep before the biggest race of my life. I met my XTERRA contact to pick up my packet, set up my transition and began to warm up for my race. Toeing the line at 11:30 a.m. MDT, only 26 hours and 35 minutes after I finished a race on the other side of the country was a daunting achievement itself, but I was relatively calm for the start of a race.
 
The XTERRA world championship race…
 
I know my strength lies in the swim, which I was the first to complete (you'd think I hate swimming with how fast I always finish the swim). I then got to work on the bike. I was so thankful to race in such a beautiful place on such fun trails. Pushing yourself in a beautiful place might not make it less painful, but crying in a Porsche is more comfortable than crying in a hunk of junk, isn't that what they say…same concept.
 
It wasn't until the run where I finally started to think about the possibility of winning this race. I felt like (I was) the hunted, constantly looking behind me for the flash of color of a competitors' TRI suit. Being at altitude, and moving my body over, across and through one of the most difficult run courses I've ever encountered, I slowed to a power hike up some of the steeper, most technical terrain.
 
Constantly in fear of being caught I pushed my body to its limit…on the verge of leg cramps throughout. When I finally hit the top of the final climb with 1K left to run downhill and no-one in sight behind me, I finally began to process what could be. The last kilometer felt like a flash to me, seeing XTERRA friends and family along the course as I made my way back into the finish, and I realized the accomplishment of what I had done.
 
I raced twice in the span of about a day, on opposite sides of the country, and won a junior world title in the process. In my last year as a junior, and the first year XTERRA worlds returned to home soil after a hiatus in Italy, I became the Junior World Champion posting the fastest swim and run of the day (apparently all my fear of being hunted was unfounded), and the second-fastest bike.
 
Reflections on a rewarding season…
 
Looking back on my season, it's had its ups and downs…but it has been one of my most rewarding. A lot of races haven't quite gone my way: I spent all season chasing the junior draft legal circuit, I've flopped a lot of runs this year and I crashed hard mid-season. But I've also achieved so many of my goals.
 
I started off the year with a fifth-place finish in my first year at collegiate nationals, defended my XTERRA junior North American title, placed third at junior draft legal nationals and placed third overall for the series long narrative and became an XTERRA junior world champion on home soil.
 
I also can't finish without thanking some amazing people for getting me to where I am today. First and foremost, my parents, Michael and Maryland…for being my biggest cheerleaders, best support crew and the million other roles they fill. Coach Nick Radkewich at Wingate and every coach who I've had the honor of working with, from coach Diana who taught me to swim, Coach Ward who made me into the swimmer I am today and taught me a lot about life along the way, and my MC Elite family, Coach Kevin and Coach Christy and Brian. Finally, two very special people at XTERRA, Steve Andrus and Emily McIlvaine for always being in my corner, being lovely people and helping put on the amazing event that was the 2026 XTERRA World Championships.
 
What They Are Saying
Wingate head triathlon coach Nick Radkewich
 
"What Lucas Wright was able to accomplish this past weekend was amazing. A podium finish on Saturday to help lead the Wingate team to a nail-biter victory over its conference rivals. Then fly across the country to compete in the XTERRA World Championships, winning the Junior World title."
 
"We have been planning this since the spring and although Lucas had the option to skip the Conference race and focus on the World Championships, he was determined to help his team out. His success was earned through hard work and a dedication to supporting his team. He also succeeds in the classroom with a double major in exercise science and finance. I don't know how he does what he does…but he makes this work."
 
"It's incredible to think in only year six of the program we have had numerous national team titles, national champions, national freshman of the year and now our first World Champion. Congratulations to Lucas…he earned it."
 
Wingate University
 
Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,600 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five 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, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 30 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 18 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
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