East Coast Elite is a running club in Lexington that provides a place for kids of all ages to do the thing they love.
East Coast Elite started as a track and field meet, and it has now expanded to a nationwide brand of meets. The East Coast Elite Club is based on the meet, called The East Coast Elite. This meet started as a small track and field meet then expanded into a nationwide track and field brand.
This club is run by Drew Ludtke. He started this club with Paul Spangler because they wanted their kids to have a place where they could run outside of school but would still get to compete in competitions. They are very similar to our school track teams in the sense that they run a lot, but their competitions can look quite different sometimes. They don’t compete at the same level as a highschool team because they compete in their own meet series.
East Coast Elite goes to many meets of all levels. Coach Drew Ludtke discusses what types of meets they attend.
“We participate in some of the local college meets, as well as our own meet series. Some of the athletes are doing triathlons, so we do those with the California Triathlon Brand,” said Drew Ludtke.
Participating in these meets allows the club’s runners to participate in a higher level of competition than what they would get out of the highschool team.
Ludtke has been coaching this team for 2 years.
“My favorite part about coaching is watching anybody improve and that means anybody of any level. I know we have a lot of really good athletes, but I’m really proud of anybody who is out here working hard and seeing big progress,” said Drew Ludtke.
He coaches many different kids with all different, diverse backgrounds. He states that he enjoys getting to be their coach and getting to watch them improve on the track.
Sophomore Tyler Ludtke has been running with the team for 2 years.
“I wanted more specialized training and it’s really nice to run with my dad and the team that we have created,” said Tyler Ludtke.
Ludtke decided to leave the highschool team so that he could get more personalized training in a more custom environment. He said that this team was very different from the highschool team because of the fact that it wasn’t connected to a school which means they have less limitations and more opportunities for bigger competitions.
Sophomore Oscar McClung is another runner that is on the team. McClung runs the 1500 and the 1600. He occasionally runs the 800.
“I run the 1500 and the 1600 and occasionally the 800”, said McClung.
He also told us about his favorite meet he has run in.
“The 2024 Indoor Adidas Nationals was my favorite meet because a lot of our team was there and qualified and it was just fun to have the whole team there,” said McClung.
Without the East Coast Elite team, he most likely wouldn’t have been able to compete or do as well in competitions. McClung stated that he is very appreciative of the experiences and opportunities that this team has given to him.
The East Coast Elite team is a very unique team that provides a lot of great opportunities for our students. This organization has come a long way in the past two years.
