WINGATE, N.C. - The Navy women's triathlon team concluded its first meet as a varsity program with a second-place finish at the Wingate Bulldog SuperSprint Kickoff Duathlon on Sunday in Wingate, N.C.
 
Navy scored 92 points as a team to earn its placement. Host Wingate won the event with 111 team points.
 
"Today was a great first-year first-race. The Mids performed athletically well and made some early-season mistakes," said head coach Billy Edwards. "The team lost some time in transition, but came together on the bike as a team to get back into the race. Looking at the long game, we showed how we can get past some mistakes. I am pleased we came second to a solid Wingate team. A big thanks to Wingate head coach (Nick) Radkevich for hosting a great on-campus event."
 
Four Mids placed in the top 10 individually. Haley Harris led the way for Navy by scoring 21 points with a fifth-place finish. She crossed the finish line at 43:02 for Navy's best time of the event.
 
"Haley is a strong swimmer, but didn't get to show that today unfortunately. However, the run-bike-run format allowed her to see she has the abilities to run at this level," added Edwards.
 
Madeline Klippenstein (20 points) and Sara Jarman (19 points) followed right behind Harris, finishing in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Klippenstein clocked in a time of 43:04 and Jarman posted a time of 43:07.
 
Zoe Adama also garnered a top-10 placement, finishing in eighth place at 43:14 to contribute 18 points toward Navy's team score.
 
Emely Vela was the additional point-scorer for the Mids. She added 14 points by placing 12th with a time of 43:48.
 
Anna Wekluk didn't score in the race, but was still an important contributor with a 14th-place finish at 44:10.
 
"The team ran well on the first run. They had a 40-second spread after the first transition with (Anna) Wekluk and (Madeline) Klippenstein in the back. Those two really stepped up on the bike and swept up the team as a whole by the end of lap one to push the second pack of the race to all come together in the second transition," mentioned Edwards.
 
Navy will compete again next Saturday in the Duquesne Collegiate Cup at Brady's Run Park in Beaver Falls, Pa. The women's draft-legal race will begin at 7:30 a.m.
 
Team Scores
1. Wingate - 111 points
2. Navy - 92 points
3. Emmanuel - 34 points
4. Newberry - 9 points