asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic development program
 Avery Martin ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is proud to announce that Avery Martin will be joining the post-collegiate, Olympic development program. Martin is a 2016 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, where he majored in History. Following his graduation he married Caroline Parris and the couple moved to Winston-Salem, NC, where he has been training.
While a student at VMI, He set the school record for the 1000-meter run and specialized in middle distance races. He was an 11 time IC4A championship qualifier in six events, and won the outdoor Southern Conference 800 meter championship in 2016. Avery also twice earned All SoCon second team honors in Cross Country. Martin's personal bests include 1:50.75 (800m), 2:25.45 (1,000m), 3:45.40 (1,500) 4:02.93 (Road Mile), 4:05.54 (Indoor Mile), and 24:21 (Road 8k). "We are excited to have Avery join our program," stated Director/Coach Mike Caldwell. "He has the desire to work not only hard, but smart, to achieve his running goals. As an additional bonus, his military-educational background sets him up well to operate in a structured-routine. Avery also fits in well with our current group of athletes and will benefit from the 'power of the group'." Avery and Caroline plan to relocate to Greenville in the near future. Caroline's sister, Alison Parris, was a member of the program from May 2014 through December 2017 and still lives and works in Greenville. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012. The program produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles and currently one "time-qualifier" for the 2020 Olympic marathon. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 47-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.
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 Austin Steagall ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall is retiring from competitive running and racing. The Gaffney, SC, native has been with the post-collegiate, Olympic development program since July of 2016 following his graduation from the University of Mt. Olive in North Carolina. Steagall earned All America honors while competing for the Trojans and was the 2016 runner-up in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase at the NCAA Division II national championships. During his time with ASICS GTC-ELITE, Steagall earned such honors as the 2017 RRCA South Carolina State 10K Champion and 2018 RRCA South Region Road Mile Champion and also placed 21st at the 2017 USATF 5K Road Championships in New York CIty. He won 17 of the 42 competitions he entered and did not lose to another South Carolina runner in the 15 SC road races he ran. Steagall ran personal bests in the Mile - indoor (4:05.94), Road Mile (4:12), 3,000m - indoor (8:04.45), 3,000m Steeplechase (8:50.58), 5,000m - indoor (14:08.68), 5,000m - outdoor (13:58.14), Road 5K (14:14), Road 8K (22:59), Road 10K (30:08) and Half-Marathon (1:08:58). "We will miss having Austin in our program, but life moves on and he believes that it is time for him to retire. Without the passion and competitive drive, there is no need to continue at this juncture. We experienced both the up times and the down times with him and watched him develop not only as an athlete, but grow as a person," commented Director/Coach Mike Caldwell. Steagall summed up his thoughts, " I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Greenville Track Club ELITE and all associated for the amazing opportunity that I was given. My time spent here will be cherished forever. You all made it possible for me to take my talent to the next level. I want to personally thank Coach Mike and Coach Laura for their hard work and dedication to the program. They both have helped me grow into a better athlete, and more importantly, a better person. Retiring was by far the hardest decision I have had to make. I will miss both competing and the team. I wish all current and future athletes with GTC-ELITE the best of luck in their careers." GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and USATF.  Ryan Bugler ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Ryan Bugler placed third in the 3,000-meter event at the inaugural Carolina Challenge conducted on the University of South Carolina's new 200-meter Indoor track. Bugler ran 8:16.76, which was slightly slower than his personal best of 8:15.03. The race was won by former Clemson standout and Greenville resident James Quattlebaum with a time of 8:09.77.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.  Ryan Bugler ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Ryan Bugler returned to the Clemson University Indoor Track Complex two weeks after setting a personal best in the 3,000 meters. Once again he ran to a third place finish and once again ran to a personal best. After running 8:19.21 on January 11, Bugler cut over four seconds from that time as he crossed the finish line with a time of 8:15.03.
It was Bugler's third personal best performance out of four competitive efforts since joining the program in September. He was previously the 2016 NCAA DIII champion in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase and a two-time All American while a student at St. Johns's University in Minnesota. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.  Frank (father) and Eddie Garcia with Coach Mike Caldwell ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia ran 2:18:50 to best the 2:19:00 qualifying standard to be eligible for the 2020 Olympic Games. Running almost perfectly even half-marathon splits of 1:09:26 and 1:09:24, he placed 22nd overall in a very elite field of international athletes in the Chevron Houston Marathon. He was the seventh USA citizen to finish. The top ten finishers consisted of three Kenyan, three Ethiopian, two Mexican, one American and one Irish runners.
With a temperature of 33 degrees F (1 degree C) for the 7:01 am start in downtown Houston, the weather was favorable for the thousands of runners running in the marathon and the accompanying Aramco Half Marathon. There were some light winds on the mostly flat course that also finished in downtown Houston. Garcia ran much of the race with fellow Greenville resident Cole Atkins, who finished one place ahead of him with a time of 2:18:44. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Joe Niemiec ran 14:53 to win the 41st edition of the Greenville News Run Downtown 5K. It was Niemiec's first competition as a member of the post-collegiate, Olympic development program as he relocated to Greenville from Michigan to join the program in October. He took the lead after a first mile of 4:55 and ran alone for the remainder of the course though downtown Greenville.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.  Bugler during a recent workout. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Ryan Bugler placed third in the 3,000 meters event in the Orange & Purple Elite meet at the Clemson Indoor Track facility on Friday afternoon. The 2016 NCAA DIII champion in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, while a student at St. John's University in Minnesota, cut almost six seconds from his previous personal best. After covering the first kilometer in fifth place at 2:47.70, Bugler ran very consistent laps on the 200-meter banked oval and passed two-kilometers at 5:33.5 before finishing with a time of 8:19.21.
Bugler's teammate, Austin Steagall placed 8th with a time of 8:38.43. Steagall's personal best was set on the same track in 2017 when he set the then facility record of 8:04.51. Austin ran in the top four for the first half of this race before fading over the final 800 meters. Florida State's Michael Hall, who was first or second for the majority of the race, won with a time of 8:13.2 after a closing 400 meters in 1:02.1. GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.  Victory Pataky, Zach Mains, Eddie Garcia & Austin Steagall, pre-race. ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Eddie Garcia returned to his hometown of Jacksonville, FL and placed third in the Ameris Bank Jacksonville Half Marathon. The former University of Florida standout and SEC 10K champion ran 1:07:15 to earn a place on the awards podium. ASICS GTC-ELITE placed three runners among the top eight as Victor Pataky finished seventh with a time of 1:08:35 and Austin Steagall was close behind in eighth at 1:08:58. The race was run in almost 100% humidity with a slight drizzle at the 7:00 am start, after a night of heavy rainfall. The temperature at the start was 63 degrees--somewhat above the average of 56 degrees for the race's history.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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, DorsiFlex and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.
 Ryan Bugler ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Ryan Bugler placed second in the 3,000-meter event in the Clemson Indoor Opener on Saturday afternoon. The former NCAA DIII champion in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase while a student at St. John's University in Minnesota, was running in only his second competition since joining the post-collegiate, Olympic development program in September. Bugler ran just behind eventual winner James Dwyer of the Atlanta Track Club Elite team for most of the race before being gapped over the final 250 meters. Dwyer, a former Clemson standout, ran 8:24.87 as he returned to familiar surroundings. Bugler finished at 8:30.44.
GTC-ELITE was established in 2012 and produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles. The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 46-year-old Greenville Track Club, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, 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 and Synergy Performance (mental performance). The club is a proud member of both the Road Runners Club of America and the USATF.  Austin Steagall running to a Personal Best in Richmond, VA. As the saying goes, "winning isn't everything." ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall dropped from first to second in the newly released South Carolina Road Race Rankings (as of December 1, 2018) despite not having lost to another South Carolina runner in over two years on the roads. Charleston's Michael Banks is now ranked first.
Runners from Greenville dominated the top ten with eight of those ten positions. Cole Atkins is ranked third, while James Quattlebaum is fourth. Frank Devar is 5th and 2017 SC Runner of the Year Ricky Flynn 6th. ASICS GTC-ELITE's Eddie Garcia and Zach Mains are 7th and 8th. Two-time SC Runner of the Year Brett Morley is 9th. Steagall recently lowered his Personal Best by a whopping 35 seconds as he placed second with a time of 22:59 in the VCU Health 8K in Richmond, VA. That race obviously does not play into the SC Road Race Rankings due to being out of state. Due to race commitments at the national level, Steagall will probably not compete in South Carolina again in 2018. |
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