2024 Highlights
GreenvilleTrack Club-ELITE athletes competed in the following locations during 2024:
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JANUARY
- Davonte Jett-Reynolds and Ryan Drew both clocked 8:10.59 to place second and third, respectively, in the 3000-meter event at the Clemson Invitational on Saturday. It was their first competitions since joining the post-collegiate, Olympic-development program in August 2023. After a slow start in a bunched field of runners, 66.7 for first 400 meters, Jett-Reynolds made his way to the front and led at 1600 meters in 4:24.63. He continued to lead through 2000m (5:31.29) and 2400m (6:37.72). His teammate Drew then took over the lead and passed 2600m in 7:09.79 with only two 200m laps remaining. However, the University of Georgia's Ryan Olree passed both Drew and Jett-Reynolds by 2800m (7:40.46). Those three sprinted the final 200 with Jett-Reynolds taking the lead going into the final turn, followed closely by Drew. Both he and Drew were passed in the final 15 meters by the Univeristy of Georgia's Ryan Olree, who finished in 8:10.3. Drew's 29.81 was the fastest final 200, with Olree running 29.84 and Jett-Reynolds (29.9). Jett-Reynolds's kilometer splits were 2:46.25, 2:45.04 and 2:39.33, while Drew's were 2:46.0, 2:45.52 and 2:39.08.
- Eddie Garcia and Karl Thiessen ran huge personal bests of 1:03:57 and 1:04:00, respectively, in Sunday's Aramco Houston Half Marathon. Garcia placed 26th and Thiessen 28th overall in a field of 13,873. Garcia's time is also a new United States Virgin Islands national record, breaking his previous PB of 1:04:32 by 35 seconds. It was Thiessen's third half marathon since joining GTC-ELITE in July of 2023 and his time broke his previous PB by a whopping two minutes and five seconds (2:05). Both runners bested the GTC-ELITE program half marathon recored of 1:04:27 set in 2016 by Mark Leininger.
- Jason Weitzel ran to a new course & event record in the Greenville Track Club's Run Downtown 5K on a very cold January morning. With temperatures below 20 degrees Weitzel, who won this race in 2022 and was runner-up in 2023, pulled away from his teammate and training partner Jack Mastandrea to clock an impressive 14:12. His performance bested the 14:14 run by former GTC-ELITE athlete Austin Steagall back in 2017 (on a different course) and 2023 winner James Quattlebaum's 14:14 on the current course. The time is also the fastest road 5K in GTC-ELITE history, besting Steagall's 14:14 and Weitzel's 14:14 from the 2023 Michelin Memorial 5K. Mastandrea finished second in a quick 14:27, which is the fourth fastest in this historic event's history.
- Davonte Jett-Reynolds ran 8:03.76 to win the men's 3000-meter event in the Carolina Challenge at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Davonte took the lead from the starter's gun and alternated in the front with teammate and training partner Ryan Drew. Jett-Reynolds passed 1,000m in 2:40.5 with Drew at 2:40.77. Then Drew led at 1600m in 4:18.7 with Jett-Reynolds at 4:18.9. Davonte was leading at 2000m (5:24.26 to 5:24.56). Drew then took his turn at the front, passing 2400m in 6:30.41 with Jett-Reynolds close behind (6:30.65). DJR then closed well over the final 600 and put 3 seconds on his teammate over the last 200m lap. Drew finished second in a season's best of 8:07.87. Jett-Reynolds' performance is the fastest in GTC-ELITE history, besting Austin Steagall's 8:04.45 from 2017. Drew's time is number four in GTC-ELITE's all-time performance list for 3000-meters Indoors.
- Jack Mastandrea ran 2:18:46 on a bright and sunny Saturday morning in Orlando, FL to place 46th in the 2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon. Seeded near the back of the 200 starters with a personal best time of 2:17:28, run in Ottawa, Ontario in 2022, Jack used a "start conservative" race plan in the warm weather conditions. He passed 10 miles in 52:10 and the halfway point (13.1 miles) in 1:08:28. Jack maintained that pace through 19 miles before slowing slightly.over the final seven miles.
- Jason Weitzel continues to be ranked first in the most recent South Carolina Road Race Rankings, published by USATF State Record Keeper Bill Marable. Jason is ranked ahead of Greenville's James Quattlebaum, who previously led the rankings for much of the past couple of years. It is the fourth consecutive month that Weitzel has ranked first among the state's road racers. His training partner and teammate, Eddie Garcia, remains third in the rankings.
- Davonte Jett-Reynolds ran a personal best of 8:00.03 in the 3000 meters at the Hemery Valentine Invitational on Saturday night. Running on what is considered the fastest indoor surface in the country at Boston Univeristy's Indoor facility, Davonte placed in a tie for 31st overall among the 160 competitors in the 3000m event. He improved his PB by 2.67 seconds and his Seasonal Best by 3.73 seconds. He placed fifth in his heat of twenty athletes.
- Eduardo Garcia ran a personal best 45:14 to place 10th in the USATF 15K Road Championships in Jacksonville's Gate River Run. It was 64 degrees with 95% humidity at the 8:00 am men's start near Jacksonville's Fairgrounds. Eddie passed 5K in 14:48 and 10K at 30:03 before the climb up the Hart Bridge, also know to runners as the "Green Monster" for its elevation and placement during the final third of the race. After cresting the bridge at 8.3 miles he was able to run the final mile in 4:30 as he finished next to TIAA Bank Stadium, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Eddie averaged 4:51 per mile and 3:01 per kilometer. The time was a new GTC-ELITE program record for a 15K race. There were 11,786 finishers in the 15K race, which is the largest road race in Florida.
- Ryan Drew and Jack Mastandrea placed third and fourth in the Oskar Blues Four Miler in Brevard, NC. Ryan ran 18:49 (4:43 per mile) and Jack 18:53 (4:44 per mile).
- Davonte Jett-Reynolds and Ryan Drew opened their outdoor track season by placing 4th and 6th in the 1500-meter event at the 49er Classic in Charlotte, NC. Jett-Reynolds closed well with a sub-2:00 final 800 and finished with a time of 3:47.98. He passed his teammate Drew over the final 120 meters as Drew finished at 3:48.94. Both runners dropped down in distance to the 1500 as they prepare for upcoming 5,000s.
- Davonte Jett-Reynolds ran 13:57.94 to set a new personal best for 5,000 meters at the Raleigh Relays on Thursday night. On an almost perfect Carolina evening with no wind and very deep fields of competitors, Jett-Reynolds placed 10th in his heat (the 7th of 9th 5000m heats). After passing 3000m in 8:21.74 he covered the final 2000 in 5:36.2. Davonte covered the penultimate lap in 1:04.47, but slowed considerably over the final 150 meters (final 200 at 36.9). HIs previous PB was 13:59.44.
- Jack Mastandrea ran a personal best of 29:03 to lead a trio of Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes to top 15 placings in the 47th Cooper River Bridge Run 10K in Charleston, SC. On an unusually brisk, and windy, Saturday morning Mastandrea covered the initial 5K, including the 5.6% uphill grade (575 feet elevation change) on the bridge, in 15:05 before running 13:58 over the final half (5K0 of the race to place 12th overall. He was followed by teammates Jason Weitzel (14th) at 29:24 and Eduardo Garcia (15th) at 29:31. Weitzel's time was only two seconds shy of his personal best of 29:22, run here in 2022. Garcia's time was 26 seconds faster than his previous road 10K PB of 29:57, run here in 2019 and at Northport, NY's Cow Harbor 10K in 2023. Mastandrea was the fourth American citizen to finish in a deep international field, while Weitzel and Garcia were the 6th and 7th Americans. The top seven finishers were of African heritage as was ninth place. Mastandrea's time is a new program record for Greenville Track Club-ELITE for the 10K road distance.
- Ryan Drew ran 4:05.48 to win the men's Elite Mile at the Electric City Invitational conduced at Anderson University in South Carolina. Drew and teammate Davonte Jett-Reynolds followed the excellent pace setting of All American Carson Williams of Furman, who is redshirting this season, through the 1000 meter mark. They passed 409 meters at 59.99 for Jett-Reynolds and 1:00.14 for Drew. Williams led them through 809m with Davonte at 2:00.9 and Ryan at 2:01.05, which was essentially 4:00 mile pace. They passed 1000m at approximately 2:30 and before Anderson University's Elliot Dotson took the lead, as Williams completed his pacing duties, and hit 1209m in 3:02.53. Drew was right on his heels at 3:02.64 with Jett-Reynolds at 3:02.72. The final 400 meters saw a battle between Dotson and Drew as Jett-Reynolds fell off the pace. Drew passed Dotson in the final 15 meters to win by .39 seconds in an exciting finish. Micah Gilpatric (redshirting at Charleston Southern) was third in 4:07.48, while Jett-Reynolds finished fifth in 4:09.29.
- Jason Weitzel ran 29:44 to win the 46th edition of the United Community Reedy River Run 10K on a beautiful Saturday morning in downtown Greenville, SC. He was followed by GTC-ELITE alum Ricky Flynn, who posted his fastest time ever in this event, with a 29:58 for second place. Ricky was third the previous three years and has been a consistent top finisher in this historic race. Weitzel's current teammate, Jack Mastandrea, took third place with a time of 30:08. Weitzel earned a good payday with $500 for the win, $100 for top South Carolina finisher and a $250 time bonus for running under 29:45. for a total of $850. Mastandrea earned $325 ($300 for third place, $25 for third South Carolina resident and $100 time bonus). Weitzel has competed in this event for the past four editions, with three consecutive runner-up finishes before his victory today. It was Mastandrea's debut here. Jason is one of five GTC-ELITE athletes to have won either the men's or women's titles at the Reedy River Run 10K.