Weitzel Places 25th at USATF 15K Championships in Jacksonville

photo: Michael Scott

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Jason Weitzel ran 45:48 to place 25th at the 2022 USATF 15K Championships on Saturday. On a foggy and very humid north Florida morning Jason passed the first 5K in 14:49 and 10K in 30:03 before the infamous climb up the Hart Bridge--a.k.a. The Green Monster--in Jacksonville, FL. After climbing some 43 meters in elevation up the bridge, he ran the mostly downhill then flat final mile in 4:48.

​It was the 45th edition of the Gate River Run and had 10,327 finishers in the 15K including Olympians Leonard Korir (3rd), Hilary Bor (4th), Galen Rupp (7th place), Diego Estrada (17th) and Jacob Riley (35th) among the men plus Emily Sisson (1st) and  Emily Infield (3rd) among the women. Nico Montanez ran a quick 43:09 to win the USATF Championship and Sisson repeated as the the women's champion with an outstanding time of 47:28. 

It was Jason's first competitive attempt at the 15K distance, although he ran his personal best and South Carolina State Record of 45:34 en route to his 1:04:45 finish at the 2021 USATF Half Marathon Championships in December. Also.of note, former ASICS GTC-ELITE Eduardo Garcia finished 27th with a personal best of 45:53. 

The Start of the 2022 USATF 15K Championships

ASICS Greenville Track Club-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, three qualifiers/two participants for the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Atlanta, GA and one qualifier for and participant in the 2021 USATF Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 3000m Steeplechase. 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. ASICS GTC-ELITE also produced the South Carolina Men's 2020 Long Distance Runner of the Year. 

​The post-collegiate, Olympic development program is sponsored by ASICS, the 50-year-old Greenville Track Club, Joy Real Estate (Adopt an Athlete partner), The Borch Foundation, generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Roll Recovery products, FinalSurge (on-line training log), ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots, Cocoa Elite recovery products, Stryd Running, Coach Bob Williams Pace Calculator, the DorsiFlex (stretching device), the MOBO board (balance & mobility), On Pace Wellness (nutrition coaching) 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.​