ASICS GTC-ELITE Athletes Lead SC Road Race Rankings

Annie Rodenfels celebrating Greenville News Run Downtown 5K win.

Eddie Garcia after winning MCG Long Run 15K.

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE athletes Eddie Garcia and Annie Rodenfels are the new leaders in the South Carolina Road Race Rankings announced today. Garcia won the MCG Long Run 15K in Columbia, SC last Saturday after placing third in The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K in January. Those were his first races since placing 12th at the Pan American Games Marathon with a time of 2:19:12 last July in Lima Peru. In the Columbia race, Eddie  finished 27 seconds ahead of Rock Hill's Jonathan McGinnis, who is second in the current rankings.

Rodenfels won the women's title at The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K with a time of 16:44, where she bested the former rankings leader Alyssa Bloomquist. Bloomquist ran a personal best of 16:54 in that event and is now ranked second in the standings. Rodenfel's teammate, Cristina McKnight, is ranked third following her SC State 15K record (52:47) at the MCG Long Run. 

Bloomquist, McKnight, Joy Miller (4th in rankings) and Esther Atkins (5th) are all qualifiers for this month's USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA, which illustrates the current talent level. 

Garcia's teammates, Joe Niemiec (7th) and Victor Pataky (9th) are also among the top ten men. Garcia, Niemiec, James Quattlebaum (3rd), Cole Atkins (6th) are also 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifiers. 

GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced 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 and three qualifiers for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA.  The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 48-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate, the Borch Foundation,   generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance).  The club is a proud and active member of both the Road Runners Club of America and  USATF.