GTC-ELITE - News Blog

GTC-ELITE's Egbula and Lyell Win Mile Runs at Clemson Invitational

1/10/2026

Ryan Drew, Patrick Lyell and Camille Egbula

Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes won both the women's and men's mile events at the Clemson Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Camille Egbula led from the start and covered the 1609-meter distance in 4:50.42. Soon after she crossed the finish line the men started their race. After trading the lead over the final 800 meters, Patrick Lyell caught teammate Ryan Drew in the final 15-meters and won with a time of 4:06.76. Drew was only .06 seconds back in 4:06.82.

Camille Egbula winning women's mile run.

Patrick Lyell (right) leading Ryan Drew in mid-race.

Patrick, Ryan and Camille chilling pre-race.

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL and currently two for the 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 54-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

GTC-ELITE Featured to Full House at Greenville Track Club January Meeting

1/6/2026

Thanks to all of those who attended our January meeting on Monday evening at Capri's Italian Restaurant on Pelham Road. It was a great turnout to kick off 2026. It was great to get to know more about our GTC-ELITE athletes and enjoy some delicious food, too.

Four GTC-ELITE Athletes among Top 6 in South Carolina Road Race Rankings

1/5/2026

The top six ranked male runners in the January 2026 South Carolina Road Race Rankings reside in Greenville, as published by USATF SC Record Keeper Bill Marable on January 5. Multiple-time rankings leader James Quattlebaum remains in the top position ahead of Ryan Drew. Drew led four Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes among the top six with Jason Weitzel, Noah Fisher and Jack Mastandrea ranking 3rd, 4th and 6th, respectively.

Quattlebaum bested an elite field while winning the Hardeeville Half Marathon in November, while Weitzel and Fisher placed third and fourth. Ricky Flynn, a GTC-ELITE alum and now ranked fifth, recently won the Trees Greenville Turkey Trot 8K on Thanksgiving in Greenville.

South Carolina Road Race Rankings
as of January 4, 2026

1. James Quattlebaum, (30, Greenville)
2. Ryan Drew (27, Greenville)
3.   Jason Weitzel (28, Greenville)
4.   Noah Fisher (23, Greenville)
5. Ricky Flynn (38, Greenville) **
6.   Jack Mastandrea (27, Greenville)
7.   Hunter Jarvis (27, Columbia)
8. Roland Hakes (32, Irmo)
9. Caleb Christiansen (24, Cayce)
10. David Williams (22, Irmo)

* GTC-ELITE athlete
** GTC-ELITE alum (previous member)

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL and currently two for the 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 54-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

Looking Back at 2025 - More Program Records and a World Best Performance

12/23/2025

Eduardo, Jason, Patrick, Camille, Noah, Ryan and Jack

JANUARY

Davonte Jett Reynolds pulled away from Coen Roberts over the final 400 meters to win the 46th edition of the Greenville Track Club's Run Downtown 5K. On a damp and cold mid-January morning Jett-Reynolds covered the somewhat hilly route in 14:35, which is the sixth fastest time in the race's long history. Roberts finished five seconds later in 14:40 with GTC-ELITE's Ryan Drew third in 14:43. His GTC-ELITE teammate Jack Mastandrea was fourth in 14:48, in his first race since the California International Marathon last month. Sergio Cuartas, who also trains with GTC-ELITE, was fifth in 14:50.
Jason Weitzel knocked a whopping 1 minute and 32 seconds off his previous Personal Best by running 1:02:28 in the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday morning. On a cold (33 degrees) and windy morning, Jason's splits were 14:41 at 5K, 29:22 at 10K, 44:18 at 15K, 47:38 at 10-miles, and 59:21 at 20K. The 15K, 10-mile and 20K times are also the fastest times in GTC-ELITE history. Weitzel's finishing time also breaks Jack Mastandrea's GTC-ELITE program record of 1:03:49 by 1 minute and 21 seconds. That record was set only two months ago in the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon--the same event where Weitzel had run his previous PB of 1:04:00. In Houston, Jason placed 34th in the deepest finish in the race's long history and was the 15th USA citizen finisher among the international field.

Davonte at Clemson Indoor

Ryan and Davonte

FEBRUARY

Davonte Jett-Reynolds and Ryan Drew placed first and third in an exciting men's 3,000-meter race in the Bob Pollock Invitational hosted by Clemson University on Saturday afternoon. Jett-Reynolds took the lead midway through the final 200-meter lap and crossed the finish line with a time of 8:01.34. He was followed closely by Georgia Tech's John Higinbotham (8:02.23) and Drew in 8:03.10. The top five finishers were between 8:01.34 and 8:03.41 as seven ran under 8:10. Davonte's time was less than 1.5 seconds off his personal best of 8:00.03 and is the second fastest in GTC-ELITE history. Ryan's time now ranks third. Between them they have eight of the top ten performances in program history.
Davonte Jett-Reynolds took the lead after 1600 meters and ran the final 1400 meters in front as he won the men's 3000-meters in a personal best of 7:57.9. It was his second consecutive victory at the Clemson Indoor Facility this month as he previously won the Bob Pollock Invitational with a time of 8:01.34 on February 1st. Davonte's kilometer splits were: 2:41.23, 2:42.55 and 2:34.12, and he now has the top three 3000m performances and six of the top ten in GTC-ELITE's history.
Ryan Drew returned to his alma mater at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA to compete in the Darius Dixon MemorialIndoor Meet. Ryan won the Invitational Mile with a time of 4:04.42. That time is the fastest in GTC-ELITE's Indoor Mile program history.

Jason finishing USATF Half Marathon Championships

Jack finishing USATF Half Marathon Championships

MARCH

Jason Weitzel and Jack Mastandrea competed in the 2025 USATF Half Marathon Championships on a cold (33 degrees) and very windy Sunday morning in Atlanta, GA. The elite race started at 7:17 am, just before the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon, and covered a challenging (hilly) route through Atlanta with the start and finish adjacent to Mercedes Benz Stadium and the Home Depot Backyard public area. The race was the selection event for September's 2025 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships to be conducted in San Diego, CA, with the top three male and female placers in Atlanta earning spots on the USA team.Weitzel, coming off his January personal best of 1:02:28 at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, ran impressive 5, 10 & 15K splits of 14:27, 29:18 and 44:20, respectively, on his way to an 18th place finish in 1:03:16. That was a 4:50 per mile pace on the undulating course. Mastandrea split 14:45, 30:01 and 45:38 en route to a 30th place finish in 1:05:07 (4:58 per mile). Jason's time is the number two All-Time Half Marathon clocking in GTC-ELITE history, only behind his Houston performance.
Ryan Drew took an early lead and ran from the front to win the men's 1500-meters at the 49er Classic conducted at Charlotte University on Friday afternoon. He finished with a time of 3:47.09.

Eduardo, Ryan, Davonte, Jason & Jack

APRIL

Jack Mastandrea ran 29:56 to place 12th in the huge Cooper River Bridge Run 10K in Charleston, SC on Saturday morning. It was the same finish placing as in 2024 for Jack, although times were slower this year due to the warmer and very humid conditions. His teammate and training partner, Jason Weitzel, had an off-day as he slowed over the final kilometers and placed 16th with a time of 30:46. That was well off his personal best for this race of 29:22 in 2022.
Ryan Drew ran 4:09 to place second overall (by only one second) in this year's Governor's Cup Main Street Mile in downtown Columbia, SC on Friday evening. Ryan ran among the front pack as it made the 180-degree turnaround at halfway. Greenville's Coen Roberts led there in 1:57. As the leaders ran back up the slight incline to the finish and into a headwind, eventual winner Ali Abdilmana and Drew passed Roberts with less than 200 meters remaining. Drew then made an attempt to overtake Abdilmana, but the Ethiopian held him off to win in 4:08. The winner earned a $500 check, while Drew received $400 for his effort and Roberts $300.
Jason Weitzel ran 29:48 to place second in the 47th edition of the United Community Reedy River Run 10K in downtown Greenville, SC on Saturday morning. With the temperature at 59-degrees for the 7:15 am start, Jason followed now-five-time winner James Quattlebaum around the 10K course that crosses the Reedy River at six different places. Weitzel was just shy of his 29:44 winning time in 2024. It was also his fourth runner-up placing in this historic event. Since 2021 Jason has placed among the first two finishers on each occasion. His top three time performances are 29:44, 29:47 and 29:48. Jason earned $625 for his performance, including $400 for second place, $175 for breaking 29:50 and $50 as second South Carolina resident.
Ryan Drew ran 3:45.05 to place third in the men's 1500-meter at the Charlotte Invitational at UNC Charlotte. He ran a fine 1:57.7 for 800m between 300m and 1100m, but slowed over the final 200. It was still the best 1500m performance in GTC-ELITE history, besting his 3:45.58 from this meet in 2024. Later in the evening his teammates, Davonte Jett-Reynolds, Jason Weitzel and Jack Mastandrea, ran in the 5,000-meter Invite and placed second, third and fifth, respectively, in the field of 34. After a rather pedestrian pace between 200m and 600m (70 seconds) the pace slightly quickened as eventual winner Rogerio Amaral of the University of South Carolina led through 1000m in 2:49.89. The three GTC-ELITE runners were just off the lead and among the top five. At 3,000m all three were less than one-second off the lead and were at 8:28. The high humidity seemed to affect the pace as almost everyone slowed after 3400 meters. However, Amaral's pace picked up significantly over the last kilometer as he won in 13:54.1. Jett-Reynolds closed with a final 400 of 64.04 to place second in 14:03.44. Weitzel was third in 14:13.5 and Mastandrea was fifth at 14:25.95.

Jason placing second at the United Community 47th Reedy River Run 10k

MAY

Ryan Drew ran 3:45.55 in the men's 1500-meter event at the Duke Twilight meet on Sunday evening. After passing the first 300 meters in 5th place (in Heat 3) at 43.55, and 700 meters in 1:45.18 (1:01.6), he took the lead with a 1:00.39 lap (2:45.53 at 1100m) despite running wide in traffic. He closed the final 400m in 1:00.01 while finishing fifth in that heat. His time was .5 second off his 3:35.05 at the Charlotte Invitational last weekend. Davonte Jett-Reynolds placed fourth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:01.84. He ran with the lead group and was in third place after 1800 meters, passed in 6:05.93. He then dropped back to seventh position before passing 3,000m in 8:23.48. He remained in that position as his pace slowed slightly to 69-70 seconds for the next few 400m, before rallying for a final lap of 1:02.3. That was the fastest final lap of any of the 20 finishers. His time was slightly faster than the 14:03.44 he ran at the Charlotte Invitational last weekend.
Ryan Drew ran 4:07.7 to place sixth in the Men's Pro Race at the second annual Meck Mile in Charlotte, NC on Saturday evening. He improved from his eighth place (4:14.3) finish last year and was over 6.5 seconds faster. The time is the fastest "road mile" in GTC-ELITE's 12-year history even though the Charlotte course is somewhat challenging with a few tight turns and up and downhill segments. Ryan earned $250 for his placing.
Announced that Noah Fisher is joining the program. A graduate of Ohio's University of Findlay, Noah was a two-time NCAA DII All American in cross country and also in track in 2024.
Ryan Drew ran a program best of 4:01.81 to place second in the Mile at the Music City Track Carnival. After clocking 2:00.59 at 809 meters, he assumed the lead in the third lap passing 1209 meters in 3:01.11 and still led at 1500 meters (3:44.68). He was passed down the homestretch by Furman University's Colin Eckerman, who won in 4:00.91.Ryan's GTC-ELITE teammate Davonte Jett-Reynolds was in the next event, the Men's Pro 5,000, and also placed second. Davonte finished with a time of 14:24.56.

Ryan winning Sunrise 8K

Noah, Jack, Jason, Davonte & Ryan

JUNE

Ryan Drew and Davonte Jett-Reynolds placed first and second in the annual Greenville Track Club Classic/USATF South Carolina Open & Masters meet Saturday. On a sunny, warm and windy early June morning Drew ran 4:09.4 and Jett-Reynolds 4:12.0 to easily best the field at the Eastside High School track. Drew, coming off his 4:01. mile at last week's Music City Track Carnival used this meet to maintain his racing fitness as he prepares for upcoming races this summer, while Jett-Reynolds gained some speedier work before his 5,000-meter race next week at the Portland Track Festival. Davonte paced the first 300 meters before Ryan took over and passed 409-meters in 1:01.7. Drew opened a gap of over four seconds with one lap remaining before Jett-Reynolds closed with a 1:01.08 final 400.
Ryan Drew had a memorable Saturday morning as he ran 23:54 to break the year-old course record by 12 seconds in the 46th edition of the GTC Sunrise Run 8K in Simpsonville, SC. This was the third consecutive year that a GTC-ELITE athlete won by setting a new course record. Eduardo Garcia ran 24:07 in 2023 and Karl Thiessen bested that with a 24:06 in 2024.
The rolling 8-kilometer course didn't pose a problem for Drew, who almost missed the race as his car ran out of gas on the freeway before 5:00 am on his way to Simpsonville. However, he overcame that situation and was on the starting line for the 6:16 am sunrise start. After an opening 4:44 mile, his final time averaged 4:48 or 2:59 per kilometer.
Davonte Jett-Reynolds ran a new personal best (PB) of 13:56.82 in the Men's 5,000-meter High Performance event at the Portland Track Festival on Sunday night. Following a slowish first 200 meters he ran the next three laps in the 65-66 second range before slowing to 68s for the next five circuits. He slightly quickened his pace over the next two laps and finished with a much faster 59.25 final 400 meters. That was the second fastest final lap of the two High Performance heats and placed him 14th overall.
Jason Weitzel improved his personal best (PB) by 85 seconds as he ran 2:14:28 to place sixth overall at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN on Saturday morning. Despite a 30-minute race start delay (from 7:40 to 8:10 am) due to severe weather and then the extremely high humidity, Jason ran in a pack of competitors that passed 5K in 15:32 and 10K at 30:42--which is sub-2:10:00 pace. As the temperature began to rise on what would be the warmest day in Duluth this year, Jason covered the first 13.1 miles in 1:06:01. With the temperature warming he completed the second half of the race in 1:08:27, and continued to move up in the deep field which included nine sub-2:10 marathoners. He earned $3000 for his sixth place and another $800 for breaking 2:15:00 for a nice payday of $3800. Jason's teammate and training partner Jack Mastandrea ran with him through 5K and passed 10K in 31:03 and halfway at 1:07:50. However the early pace and environmental conditions caught up and he slowed over the remainder of the race to finish in 22nd place with a time of 2:24:05. That is well off his PB of 2:15:58, which he ran at last December's California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA. Both teammates surpassed their pre-race seedings of 28th (Jason) and 29th (Jack).

Left to right: Noah, Ryan, Davonte, Jack and Jason

JULY

Greenville Track Club-ELITE had a good showing at the annual Red, White and Blue Shoes 5K at Furman University on July Fourth. Ryan Drew defended his event title from 2024 and also ran a new course record of 14:13 to win. He took the lead from the start and led all the way as he improved his winning time from last year by 47 seconds. His teammate Noah Fisher, running his first race as a member of GTC-ELITE, was a close second with a time of 14:17 (which is believed to be one of five fastest times in race history). They were followed by 37-year-old GTC-ELITE alum Ricky Flynn with an outstanding 14:24. Ricky's time should be a new South Carolina Age 37 Record besting his own record of 14:39.
In the South Carolina Road Race Rankings, published on July 17 by USATF SC Record Keeper Bill Marable, the top four runners remained the same as the previous month. Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jack Mastandrea is ranked second, while his teammates Jason Weitzel, Ryan Drew and Davonte Jett-Reynolds are ranked fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively. Drew jumped three positions after being ranked 8th last month and recently had record-breaking performances in winning the Sunrise 8K and the Red, White & Blue Shoes 5K.. Jett-Reynolds dropped one place in the rankings. Former GTC-ELITE members Ricky Flynn, who rank a personal road best at the R,W&B Shoes 5K is ranked third and Roland Hakes ninth.
Ryan Drew ran a new 8K personal best of 23:39 to place fourth overall at the Crazy 8s race on Saturday night in Kingsport, TN. He dropped 15 seconds from his winning time at Simpsonville's Sunrise 8K in June. His placing also earned him $500 in prize money. Ryan's newest teammate Noah Fisher, who just joined the team in June, slowed over the final half of the race to place ninth with a time of 24:42. The historic event started at 8:58 pm with temperatures in the low 80s and high humidity.
Ryan Drew ran 3:56.7 to place third in the 16th edition of the Ryan Shay Mile in Charlevoix, Michigan on Saturday morning. The race is part of the Venetian Festival Races and was won by Minnesota Distance Elite's Adam Swansona with a time of 3:55.1. It was a breakthrough performance for Drew, who cut a whopping 11 seconds off his previous road mile PB of 4:07.7 at the Meck Mile in Charlotte, NC in May.
Greenville Track Club-ELITE announced that Camille Egbula will be joining the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. Camille is a recent graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC, where she majored in Public Relations. She was the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion (MEAC) in both the 800 and 1500-meter events in 2025 and has an 800m personal best of 2:04.6. That performance was achieved in the NCAA Championship Preliminary First Round (East Regional).

Camille, Eduardo, Noah, Jack, Jason and Ryan

AUGUST

Ryan Drew ran a new personal track best of 3:58.32 to place second in the West Chester Mile's Elite division. For Drew, who ran a 3:56.7 road mile recently at the Ryan Shay Mile in Michigan, it was his first sub-4:00 on the track. He finished second in tonight in the West Chester, PA race, behind winner Will Cuthbertson's (Empire Elite Track Club) 3:56.76.
Greenville Track Club-ELITE announced that Patrick Lyell will be joining the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. Patrick recently completed his post-graduate education at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, where he focused on Environmental and Sustainability Studies. He was the 2025 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference Champion (GLIC) in the 1500-meters and has a personal best of 3:42.88. He also earned NCAA DII All American honors as a member of their Distance Medley Relay team and has run 4:03.93 for the mile.
Ryan Drew led his Greenville Track Club-ELITE teammates to a sweep of the first four places at the annual Eduard Michelin Memorial 5K conducted at the Michelin Training Tire Facility in Greenville County. Drew's winning time of 14:17 is the third fastest time in this race's history and was only four seconds shy of Jack Mastandrea's course record of 14:13. Jason Weitzel, the winner in 2023, was runner-up for the second straight year as he clocked 14:21. Noah Fisher was third in 14:37 and Mastandrea fourth at 14:54. It was a 43-second improvement for Drew from his fourth place here last year. A GTC-ELITE athlete has been the overall winner eleven times since 2013. The race started at 8:00 am with typical mid-August conditions of 73 degrees and 92% humidity.

Jack at Great Cow Harbor 10K

Noah & Jack at GCH 10K

Noah at Great Cow Harbor 10K

SEPTEMBER

Jack Mastandrea ran a personal best of 59:59 to place 18th in the USATF 20K Championships at the Faxon Law New Haven Road Race on Labor Day morning in Connecticut. His teammate, Jason Weitzel, placed 22nd with a time of 1:00:36. Mastandrea improved by 61 seconds from his time of 1:01:00 in 2024, while Weitzel cut over two minutes from his time here in 2023. The men's field was one of the deepest in history as the top 25 finished with an average-mile time of sub-5:00 minutes. The top ten averaged under 4:44 per mile with Olympian Conner Mantz winning in a new American record of 56:16 (4:32/mile pace).
Jack Mastandrea and Noah Fisher ran 29:39 and 29:40, respectively, to place 10th and 11th in the 48th running of the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, NY. It was a cooler (63-degrees) and breezy Saturday morning as the 5,000 participants ran the hilly and challenging route through the village of Northport as part of the annual Cow Harbor Day festival.
Mastandrea duplicated his 10th place finish from last year, while Fisher was debuting at the 10K road distance. Their finishing times now rank 2nd and equal 3rd historically for GTC-ELITE athletes at Cow Harbor

Jason and Noah placed 3rd and 4th at the Hardeeville Half Marathon

NOVEMBER

Ryan Drew became the number one ranked road racer in the Palmetto State per the November South Carolina Road Race Rankings, published by USATF SC Record Keeper Bill Marable on November 6. Ryan leads a group of four Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes in the top six rankings. He is followed by teammates Jason Weitzel (2nd), Noah Fisher (5th) and Jack Mastandrea (6th). GTC-ELITE alum Ricky Flynn is third and another alum, Roland Hakes is tenth. The top six runners reside and train in the Greenville area.
Jason Weitzel and Noah Fisher placed 3rd and 4th overall in the 2025 Hardeeville Half Marathon on Sunday morning in Hardeeville, SC. Running on the same course as the 2021 USATF Half Marathon Championships, Weitzel ran faster the the previous South Carolina Half Marathon record of 1:04:14, held by Greenville's James Quattlebaum, by running 1:03:59. However, Quattlebaum finished first in the race and set a new SCSR of 1:03:36. Flagstaff, Arizona's Jacob Thompson was second with a time of 1:03:50. Fisher, running his first professional half marathon, closed well over the final kilometers to place fourth with a time of 1:04:21 (4:54 per mile pace). Weitzel earned $1250 and Fisher $900 for their placings on a warm morning of 65 degrees with 94% humidity. Those atypical conditions for November contributed to somewhat slower times for the sweat-drenched runners.
Noah Fisher ran a course record of 15:15 to win the annual Zoom Through the Zoo 5K at Greenville's Zoo in Cleveland Park. Noah was representing his employer Joy Real Estate, which is an Adopt an Athlete partner with GTC-ELITE in the Corporate Shield Series Event. He was coming off his fourth place finish at last Sunday's Hardeeville Half Marathon, where he debuted at that distance with a time of 1:04:21.

Camille en route to victory at the Clemson Indoor Opener

Camille

DECEMBER

Camille Egbula, running her first race as a Greenville Track Club-ELITE athlete, easily won the women's 1000-meter event at the Clemson Indoor Opener on Friday afternoon. The 2025 Howard University graduate took the lead midway and cruised to a final time of 2:49.06. Meanwhile in Allendale, Michigan GTC-ELITE's Patrick Lyell returned to his alma mater at Grand Valley State Univeristy and placed second in Mile INVITE with a time of 4:06.01. It was also his first competition since joining the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program in September.
Jason Weitzel and Jack Mastandrea both ran huge personal bests on Sunday morning in the California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA to qualify for the 2028 USA Olympic Team Marathon Trials. Weitzel ran much of the race with a pack of approximately ten, all in their quest of a top finish in this 2025 USATF Marathon Championship. He passed halfway in a quick 1:05:13 and 30K at 1:32:42 (4:58 per mile pace). Although slowing slightly over the final 5K Jason cut a whopping 2 minutes and 44 seconds from his previous best (2025 Grandma's Marathon). His finishing time of 2:11:44 (5:02 pace) is also the world best for a marathon by a Type I Diabetic. He also earned $750 for his ninth place and another bonus for qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Jack's assignment was to safely qualify for the OTs which would require a sub-2:16:00, so he ran with a huge pack of aspiring qualifiers and passed halfway in 1:07:32 (2:15:04 marathon pace). After clocking 1:51:47 at 35K, he was able to increase his pace over the final 7.2K to cut 1:56 from his previous PB and finish in 2:14:01. He moved up in the placings considerably over that final stretch to place 19th overall--the same position as last year, when he ran his previous best of 2:15:57.

Jack, Ryan, Jason, Eduardo, Noah and Patrick during a long run at Tuxedo, NC

GTC-ELITE Has Four of Top Six in December South Carolina Road Race Rankings

12/11/2025

The top six ranked runners in the December South Carolina Road Race Rankings reside in Greenville as published by USATF SC Record Keeper Bill Marable on December 10th. Multiple-time rankings leader James Quattlebaum moved back into the first position replacing last month's leader Ryan Drew. Drew led four Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes among the top six with Jason Weitzel, Noah Fisher and Jack Mastandrea ranking 3rd, 4th and 6th, respectively.

Quattlebaum bested an elite field while winning the Hardeeville Half Marathon in November, while Weitzel and Fisher placed third and fourth. Ricky Flynn, a GTC-ELITE alum and now ranked fifth, recently won the Trees Greenville Turkey Trot 8K on Thanksgiving in Greenville.

South Carolina Road Race Rankings
as of December 6, 2025

1. James Quattlebaum, (30, Greenville)
2. Ryan Drew (27, Greenville)
3.   Jason Weitzel (28, Greenville)
4.   Noah Fisher (23, Greenville)
5. Ricky Flynn (38, Greenville) **
6.   Jack Mastandrea (27, Greenville)
7.   Hunter Jarvis (27, Columbia)
8. Caleb Christiansen (24, Cayce)
9. David Williams (22, Irmo)
10. Richard Westbury (26, Charleston)
* GTC-ELITE athlete
** GTC-ELITE alum (previous member)

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL and currently two for the 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 53-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

Weitzel (2:11:44) and Mastandrea (2:14:01) Run Huge PBs at California International Marathon to Qualify for 2028 USA Olympic Team Marathon Trials

12/7/2025

Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jason Weitzel and Jack Mastandrea both ran huge personal bests on Sunday morning in the California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA to qualify for the 2028 USA Olympic Team Marathon Trials.

Weitzel ran much of the race with a pack of approximately ten, all in their quest of a top finish in this 2025 USATF Marathon Championship. He passed halfway in a quick 1:05:13 and 30K at 1:32:42 (4:58 per mile pace). Although slowing slightly over the final 5K Jason cut a whopping 2 minutes and 44 seconds from his previous best (2025 Grandma's Marathon). His finishing time of 2:11:44 (5:02 pace) is also the world best for a marathon by a Type I Diabetic. He also earned $750 for his ninth place and another bonus for qualifying for the Olympic Trials.

Top Ten Finishers in USATF Championships. Jason Weitzel (9th place) second from left.

Jack's assignment was to safely qualify for the OTs which would require a sub-2:16:00, so he ran with a huge pack of aspiring qualifiers and passed halfway in 1:07:32 (2:15:04 marathon pace). After clocking 1:51:47 at 35K, he was able to increase his pace over the final 7.2K to cut 1:56 from his previous PB and finish in 2:14:01. He moved up in the placings considerably over that final stretch to place 19th overall--the same position as last year, when he ran his previous best of 2:15:57.

Now 2X USA Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers Jack and Jason post race.

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL and currently two for the 2028 Olympic Trials Marathon. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 53-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

Egbula Wins 1000m at Clemson Indoor Opener and Lyell Places 2nd in Grand Valley State Mile

12/5/2025

Camille Egbula (red & blue stripes) won the 1000m.

Camille Egbula, running her first race as a Greenville Track Club-ELITE athlete, easily won the women's 1000-meter event at the Clemson Indoor Opener on Friday afternoon. The 2025 Howard University graduate took the lead midway and cruised to a final time of 2:49.06.

TOP 5 at Clemson Indoor Opener Women's 1000-meter

Meanwhile in Allendale, Michigan GTC-ELITE's Patrick Lyell returned to his alma mater at Grand Valley State Univeristy and placed second in Mile INVITE with a time of 4:06.01. It was also his first competition since joining the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program in September.

Top 5 at Grand Valley State University Mens' MILE INVITE
*300m track

Patrick Lyell

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; and three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 53-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

Happy Thanksgiving from Greenville Track Club-ELITE

11/27/2025

We have a lot to be thankful for:

Our current athletes - Eduardo Garcia, Jason Weitzel, Ryan Drew, Jack Mastandrea, Noah Fisher, Camille Egbula and Patrick Lyell.
All of our alum and former athletes, as they set the stage for our current group.
Our Board of Directors --past and current.
Our parent organization -- the 53-year-old Greenville Track Club.
Furman University (one of our great training locations)
Beautiful Greenville, SC
the Road Runners Club of America
Our great partners - ASICS, Final Surge, Joy Real Estate, Performance Therapy of Greenville, ElliptiGO, Roll Recovery, Lever Movement, MOBO mobility boards, DorsiFlex mobility and OMIUS cooling headbands
Fleet Feet Greenville -- for employing many of our athletes
All who have supported and cheered for us over the past 13 years.
And of course our very generous donors -- who made all of this possible!

THANK YOU

Fisher Wins Zoom Through the Zoo 5K with Course Record

11/15/2025

Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Noah Fisher ran a course record of 15:15 to win the annual Zoom Through the Zoo 5K at Greenville's Zoo in Cleveland Park. Noah was representing his employer Joy Real Estate, which is an Adopt an Athlete partner with GTC-ELITE in the Corporate Shield Series Event. He was coming off his fourth place finish at last Sunday's Hardeeville Half Marathon, where he debuted at that distance with a time of 1:04:21.

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; and three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 53-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

Weitzel and Fisher Place 3rd and 4th in Hardeeville Half Marathon

11/9/2025

Jason Weitzel

Noah Fisher

Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jason Weitzel and Noah Fisher placed 3rd and 4th overall in the 2025 Hardeeville Half Marathon on Sunday morning in Hardeeville, SC. Running on the same course as the 2021 USATF Half Marathon Championships, Weitzel ran faster than the previous South Carolina Half Marathon record of 1:04:14 ( held by Greenville's James Quattlebaum) by running 1:03:59. However, today Quattlebaum finished first in the race and set a new SCSR of 1:03:36. Flagstaff, Arizona's Jacob Thompson was second with a time of 1:03:50.

Fisher, running his first professional half marathon, ran much of the race solo but closed well over the final kilometers to place fourth with a time of 1:04:21 (4:54 per mile pace). Weitzel earned $1250 and Fisher $900 for their placings on a warm morning of 65 degrees with 94% humidity. Those atypical conditions for November contributed to somewhat slower times for the sweat-drenched runners.

JP Trojan of Minnesota Distance Elite was 5th in 1:04:56 and ZAP Endurance's Dan Schaffer 6th in 1:05:35.

2025 Hardeeville Half Marathon Top Male Finishers

Per USATF rules, road racing times are rounded up to the next integral second.

Jason and Noah pre-race (above photo) and then post-race with their award checks (photo on right).

All Time GTC-ELITE Top 20 Half Marathon Performances

Greenville Track Club-ELITE was established in 2012 and is well into its second decade as a post-collegiate, Olympic-development program. The program developed and produced one participant for the 2024 Olympic Games marathon in Paris; four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles; one qualifier/participant for the 2019 Pam American Games Marathon in Lima, Peru; three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA; one qualifier and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase in Eugene, OR; and three qualifiers for the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Orlando, FL. The program's runners set four South Carolina State road race records in 2020 (5K, 15K and Half Marathon--twice) and three (15K, 10-Mile and 20K) in 2021. GTC-ELITE produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year and recently had the top two ranked South Carolina road racers for 2024.

The program is sponsored and supported by the 53-year-old Greenville Track Club, ASICS, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility) and LEVER Movement (treadmill body weight support). The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.

Greenville Track Club-ELITE

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