asics Greenville Track Club-ELITE - a post-collegiate, Olympic development program
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It was a tough trip for ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall as he returned to the Raleigh Relays. He and his coach, Mike Caldwell, were involved in a traffic accident on their way from Greenville, SC to the North Carolina city on Thursday. They were hit from behind by a Dodge truck on I-85 when traffic slowed due to congestion. Although their automobile was heavily damaged both were fortunate not to be harmed.
Then in Friday night's 5,000-meter event, Steagall had his heel clipped from behind and stumbled into the infield before recovering and rejoining the race. However, what appears to be an abdominal strain and a tightened back slowed him considerably over the final 2 kilometers. After passing 3,000 in a respectable 8:30, he slowed to finish in 14:40, which was well off his 13:58 clocking at the same event in 2017. "High level track competition is not just about running fast, but also involves staying out of trouble as the runners are running very close together sometimes," stated Caldwell. "Austin has a long back kick and that lends him to be susceptible to getting clipped. Hopefully, we can determine the extent of his injury and resume his training soon." 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, 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 and Cocoa Elite recovery products.
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  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is proud to announce the addition of Zach Mains to the post-collegiate, Olympic development program based in beautiful Greenville, SC. Mains is relocating from his native state of Pennsylvania to continue his running career and pursue his dreams.
A 2016 graduate of Lock Haven University, Zach's career interests include actuarial science and insurance. He first matriculated at Millersville College, but transferred to Lock Haven when the cross country program was defunded. He posted times of 8:23 for 3,000 meters, 14:29 for 5,000 meters and 30:37 over the 10,000-meter distance. Mains explained his thought process, "I decided to move from central PA down to Greenville and join ASICS GTC-ELITE because I believe in this program. I feel that with the athletes, coaches and support from everyone surrounding this group, that it will bring out the best in me. I felt that based on the previous training that I have done with the Keystone Track Club and at Lock Haven University, that I would be a great fit within this program. I also believe that with the knowledge that both coaches Mike and Laura bring to the table that they will be great teachers in guiding me to reach my ultimate goal of running in some of the biggest races in cross country and on the track and roads." "We are excited to welcome Zach into the program," stated director/coach Mike Caldwell. "We believe once he adjusts to our training philosophy, we will see his performances rise to the next level. We believe the 'power is in the group' so adding Zach definitely improves our program." Mains will be joining NCAA DII All-American Austin Steagall, newly arrived Clemson grad Roland Hakes (twice SC Gatorade Runner of the year in high school) and soon-to-arrive Eduardo Garcia. Garcia was the 2015 SEC champion at 10,000 meters while competing for top NCAA program University of Florida. 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, 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 and Cocoa Elite recovery products.  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall is featured in Cocoa Elite's "In the Spotlight."
"Our latest candidate for our "In the Spotlight" is Austin Steagall. Read more about this driven athlete: http://ow.ly/vefb30iyGK5" We have also included the interview (without the pics) on our Athlete Blog page. ASICS GTC-ELITE is a proud partner with Cocoa Elite and use their products to aid in the recovery process following our training sessions. They also have products to enhance endurance before longer training sessions. The company produces recovery and cardiovascular enhancing products based on cocoa and the flavanol ingredient. Cocoa has captivated mankind and science with its exotic and complex properties. According to the company's research, "The daily use of flavanols found in cocoa have shown to have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and blood circulation.**" Friends and supporters of ASICS GTC-ELITE can purchase Cocoa Elite products with a 10% discount by using the code "GTC-COCOA" on their website @: https://shop.cocoaelite.com/collections/allshop.cocoaelite.com/collections/all.  Austin Steagall ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall placed second in the men's 3,000 meters at the UCS Invitational meet in Winston-Salem, NC. After a slow first 1,000-meter split of 2:51, Steagall began to move up through the pack and passed 2K at 5:39. During the final kilometer around the non-banked 200-meter JDL Fast Track, he moved from fifth to second place behind former Naval Academy standout Lucas Stalnaker. Both runners increased their pace over the final 600 meters with Stalnaker holding off Steagall to win with a time of 8:22.31. Steagall's final time was 8:23.3 as he ran the final kilometer in 2:43.
Although the time was well off Steagall's personal best of 8:04, it was a good effort in a tactical race. "Of course we would have liked to have a faster time, but today's race plan was just to be competitive and not worry about the early pace, explained Coach Mike Caldwell. "We thought Austin competed well and put himself in position to win over the final kilometer. Lucas was just too strong today and responded well to Austin's charge over the final 200." 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, 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 and Cocoa Elite recovery products.   Steagall & GTC-ELITE coach Laura Caldwell ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall defended his title from 2017 as he ran to victory in the 39th Annual Greenville News Run Downtown 5K. Running his first race in two months, he opened his 2018 competitive schedule with a time of 14:54 over the rolling course in downtown Greenville, SC.
Steagall followed Greenville's Cole Atkins, a former member of ZAP-Reebok's elite program and now a Skechers athlete, for the first mile before taking the lead and never looking back. While the time was well off Steagall's course record of 14:14 (set last year), he accomplished his primary goal of defending his victory. Atkins finished second in 15:01. "I followed the plan my coach and I had developed a few weeks ago and just ran for the win," explained Steagall following his post-race cool down. "This is my first race of the season and we'll be targeting some indoor track meets starting next week at Clemson." The race is the unofficial kick-off each year for the road racing season in Greenville. This year the finish line was moved from S. Main Street to E. Broad Street due to the relocation of The Greenville News into their new facility. The course is certified under USATF procedures. There were 1656 official finishers on a sunny, but very chilly morning. 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, 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 and Cocoa Elite recovery products.
Good things sometimes come to an end. While it is usually difficult to say good-bye, there are sometimes good reasons for doing so. As 2018 begins, ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE will be without its two most veteran women athletes. Kimberly Ruck is engaged to her long-time boyfriend Marty Maloney and will be married in June. She has just accepted a new job in Chapel Hill, NC (where Marty is in Law school). Alison Parris is transitioning from her three-year part-time position at ScanSource, Inc. to a full-time new opportunity.
Ruck was the first woman to join ASICS GTC-ELITE. While pursuing her Masters degree at the University of South Carolina, the former Clemson University All American joined the program. A Greenville native and already a long-time member of the Greenville Track Club, Kimberly was a natural fit for the post-collegiate, Olympic development group. During her almost five years with ASICS GTC-ELITE, Ruck traveled to major competitions around the country including the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, CA, the Abbott's Dash for the Finish in New York City, the Tuft's Healthcare Women's 10K in Boston, MA, the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, NY, the Raleigh Relays in NC, three USATF Club XC National Championships (Bethlehem, PA, San Francisco, CA and Tallahassee, FL), the Newport 10K in Jersey City, NJ, etc. Kimberly had some outstanding performances including a 33:17 10,000 at Stanford, a 16:19 5,000 at Raleigh, and a 27:11 8K in Columbia, SC. She won a total of 20 races including the 2017 TD Bank Reedy River Run in Greenville. She also set three course records, including her 16:32 at the 2015 Greenville News Run Downtown 5K. Parris was the second woman to join ASICS GTC-ELITE. She had worked for three years in her home state of Maryland following her 2011 graduation from James Madison University. With the intention of pursuing post-collegiate running once completely healthy after some persistent injuries during her collegiate career, she was selected to attend the RRCA Run Pro Camp, where her interest spiked and she contacted ASICS GTC-ELITE. After her successful interview visit, she relocated to Greenville, SC in May of 2014. During her time with the program Alison competed in almost 40 races and finished among the top five 30 times, including 14 victories and set five course records. She competed in three USATF Club Cross Country National Championships with two excellent top 40 finishes (26th and 33rd). Parris and her teammates placed 8th at those championships in 2015 in San Francisco. She ran personal bests of 16:29 for 5,000 meters, 27:13 for 8K and 35:12 for 10K. She also placed 6th at the 2015 Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. Alison was employed by ScanSource, Inc. as part of our Adopt An Athlete program. After experiencing a semi-chronic foot injury during the latter part of 2017, Alison decided to make a career change and accepted a full-time employment position in her adopted home of Greenville. "We will really miss having Kimberly and Alison with our program," stated Director/Coach Mike Caldwell. "Both ladies are class acts and always were a pleasure to coach and just be around on an almost daily basis. However, life moves on and we know both of them will be very successful in their personal lives and also be positive contributors to society in general. We have some great memories with them, during both the highs and lows of their post-collegiate competitive 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots and Cocoa Elite recovery products.  ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE announced that two-time South Carolina AAAA State Cross Country champion Roland Hakes will be joining the post-collegiate, Olympic development program in 2018. Hakes, who hails from Irmo, SC, where he ran for Dutch Fork High School, graduated with a degree in History from Clemson University in May of 2016.
He completed his Army ROTC studies and training while at Clemson and is a member of the US Army Reserve. He is employed by Centurion Labs, of Columbia, SC as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Hakes' performances as a Clemson Tiger included: 3:50.2 for 1500 meters; 8:23.5 for 3,000 meters indoor; 14:24.0 for 5,000 meters and 30:27.3 for 10,000 meters. He also has a personal best of 24:01 for 8K cross country. While running for Dutch Fork High School, Roland was twice named Gatorade Boys Runner of the Year in Cross Country for the state of South Carolina. "Roland demonstrated excellent self-discipline and time management while a student-athlete at Clemson," explained program director/coach Mike Caldwell. "We usually do not encourage our athletes to work full time due our training and recovery schedules, which are fairly time consuming. However, Roland has a dream he desires to chase and we want to provide the guidance, environment and assistance for him to achieve that dream." According to Clemson Head Coach Marc Elliott. "He’s the type of guy you can count on; he never falters to meet his own expectations. It’s his ability to get the maximum out of each competition that sets him apart.” The ASICS GTC-ELITE coaches are devising a developmental plan to accommodate Hakes' employment and military obligations while targeting their performance goals and objectives. "We'll plan a period of transition for Roland to get accustomed to our training philosophies and a new environment in Greenville," stated Caldwell. "We've always considered our program to be about development and growth and not just with running, but with career and personal aspects. Therefore, being flexible in our planning for Roland will be not only be a new challenge, but a learning experience and benefit to all of us." 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots and Cocoa Elite recovery products.   ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE is proud to announce that Eduardo Garcia will be joining the post-collegiate, Olympic development program. Garcia is a 2016 graduate of the University of Florida, in Gainesville, FL. He was a three-time NCAA qualifier at 10,000 meters and also ranks sixth on the all-time Gator indoor 5,000-meter performance list. Eddie has a personal best of 29:35.9 for 10,000 meters and a PB of 14:06 for 5,000 meters. He was the Southeastern Conference (SEC) 10,000 meters champion in 2015.
"We are excited to have Eddie join our training group," stated program director and coach Mike Caldwell. "He had a very good collegiate career at the U of F, performing well at both 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Our plan is for him to continue to train for and compete at the 10K in addition to preparing for longer road races and targeting the marathon in the near future." Eddie was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL before matriculating at the University of Florida. He graduated with a degree in Sports Management. The current plan is for Eddie to relocate to Greenville in the early Spring of 2018. 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery, FinalSurge, The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots and Cocoa Elite recovery products.
ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Austin Steagall and Kimberly Ruck both ran to victories in the Paris Mountain Road Races 5K on a cool Saturday morning on the beautiful Furman University campus in Travelers Rest, SC. The 5K was run in conjunction with the 47th annual Paris Mountain 20K--the state's oldest and toughest road race--and produced by the Greenville Track Club.
Steagall covered the 5K route in an impressive 14:43, running solo for most of the race. Ruck ran 17:07 to win the women's overall title. She currently leads the South Carolina Road Race Rankings. 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 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery, FinalSurge, The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots and Cocoa Elite recovery products. |
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