High Contrast Mode:

a group of people running on a track

Atlanta Track Club Elite to Open its Season on Saturday

Atlanta Track Club Elite's newest athletes - Sean Dolan, Rachel Gearing and Camille Laus - will be among the members opening the team's indoor season on December 7, the Club announced today.

Also today, the Club is re-launching atlantatrackclubelite.org, featuring news and extensive athlete bios.

Of the 15 members who comprise the Club's 2025 Elite and Developmental squads, 10 are expected to compete on Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Opener, the first meet to be held in the school's new Jane & David Ott Center for Track & Field.

The three new 800-meter specialists are expected to take Atlanta Track Club Elite, which will mark its 10 th anniversary this year, a step further toward becoming the best middle-distance training group in the country.

Dolan and Gearing each wore the Winged-A in one competition last summer just after joining the Club, while Haus will be making her Elite team debut. At the Penn Opener, Dolan will run the Mile; Gearing and Laus will compete at 600 meters.

Dolan, who ran for Villanova University, joined Atlanta Track Club Elite last spring, just days before competing in his second U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials. At Villanova, he was a seven-time All- American and nine-time Big East Champion, winning two Penn Relay titles and qualifying for six NCAA Championships.

"I already knew Tommy Nohilly, so when the chance came to visit the Club it seemed like a great idea," said Dolan of the Atlanta Track Club Elite head coach. "I liked what I saw, with the focus on middle distance and the chance to have excellent training partners, and I'm excited to run a little harder in practice and take some calculated risks. I'm looking forward to pushing my body to its limits and to seeing what I can do in this sport."

Among the teams at the Penn Opener will be the host University of Pennsylvania squad led by Dolan's father, Steve, the school's director of track and field/cross country as well as director of the legendary Penn Relays.

Gearing, the 2023 Big Ten Indoor Champion at 800 meters, ran for Penn State. The All-American is a three-time Penn Relays Champion and made the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials last summer at 800 meters. Hailing from Sautee Nacoochee, GA, Gearing placed in the top 3 at both the 2017 and 2018 GHSA State Championships at 400 meters, the long jump and the triple jump for White County High School.

In her debut with the Club last July, Gearing ran a personal best of 1:59.50 to break the 2-minute barrier for the first time.

"Having the opportunity to train and compete for Atlanta Track Club is one I didn't realize would be in the cards for me," said Gearing. "It really is a full-circle moment. I left Georgia as a triple jumper who would sometimes compete in sprinting events for my high school team. Now I'm returning to Georgia, as an elite mid-distance runner. You never know where this sport will take you."

Laus is a two-time Olympian for Belgium in the 4x400-meter relay. In addition, she was a member on the Belgian 4x400 team that won a bronze medal at the 2024 European Championships and finished fifth at the 2019 World Championships. As a member of Atlanta Track Club Elite's Developmental Team, Laus plans to step up to 800 meters.

"I like new challenges, and I was looking for a new training environment," said Laus, who relocated to Atlanta from Brussels. "Atlanta Track Club was the best fit for me - great, talented athletes with a strong team spirit, and a knowledgeable coach who's a good listener. I'm really grateful to be part of this team and I'm looking forward to representing the Club in the best way possible."

The newcomers will be joined on Saturday by Atlanta Track Club Elite veterans Luciano Fiore, Gabrielle Wilkinson, Olivia Baker, Hannah Segrave and Clay Pender of the Developmental Team at 1000 meters; and Shane Streich and Rob Heppenstall in the Mile.

Also returning to the Elite team for 2025 are Laurie Barton, Yolanda Ngarambe; and Developmental athletes Eion Nohilly and Presley Weems. Ngarambe, who has twice represented Sweden in the World Championships and holds the national record in the indoor mile, will be marking her 10th year with the team, which she helped launch in 2015.

Supporting the athletes will be the Club's Multidisciplinary Athlete Performance and Prevention (MAPP) Team, founded in 2021. Composed of veteran providers with direct expertise in running sports medicine, the innovative MAPP Team provides comprehensive, coordinated care to the Elite team.

The MAPP Team includes Dr. Amadeus Mason of the Emory Sports Medicine Center; Dr. Kate Mihevc Edwards, Dr. Kacy Seynders and Dr. Elizabeth Karr of Precision Performance and Physical Therapy; Kelsey Pontius of Meteor Nutrition; Dr. Donna Sands Annicelli of Well Body Basics; Dr. Chris Stanley, a mental skills and performance sports psychologist; and Dr. Altelisha Taylor of Morehouse School of Medicine.

The 2024-2025 indoor season will culminate in the World Indoor Championships, to be held March 21- 23 in Nanjing, China.