Rio Grande's Tyler Jenkins finished 31st in Friday's NAIA Men's Cross Country Championship in Columbia, Mo. By virtue of his finish, Jenkins was named an NAIA All-American.

Posted: Nov 22, 2024

Rio's Jenkins earns All-American kudos at NAIA nationals

Rio Grande/NAIA Sports Information
COLUMBIA, Mo. - University of Rio Grande junior Tyler Jenkins achieved All-American status by virtue of his 31st place finish in Friday's 2024 NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
Jenkins, a native of Barnesville, Ohio, completed the 8k course in a time of 24:34.
The top 40 runners in the field of 331 participants earned All-American honors.
As a team, Rio Grande tallied 565 points and finished 27th among the 36 schools vying for the title.
"Tyler was only one second off his PR and school record. What an incredible way to cap off his season," said Rio Grande head coach Matt Paxton. "Today was not the outcome we wanted as a team, but the men ran the fastest team average at a national meet in school history- 25:32. It was an historic season for the men with multiple achievements and they're just getting started. We will be back."
Also representing the RedStorm was freshman Duncan Kogei (Eldoret, Kenya), who finished 150th in a time of 25:29; senior Danuel Persinger (Glouster, OH), who was 157th after crossing in 25:32; sophomore Kasy Science (Marietta, OH), who took 191st place in 25:44; freshman Wes Taylor (Lancaster, OH), who was 196th after posting a time of 25:47; junior Mugisha Pomossene (Dayton, OH), who was 244th with a time of 26:16; and freshman Ryder Crawford (Owensville, OH), who was 252nd with a time of 26:24.
Evert Silva of Oklahoma City University emerged victorious as he claimed the individual title with a time of 23:14. It marked the sixth OCU runner in eight years to win the individual title.
Demetris Love, Jr. of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) finished just behind Silva with a time of 23:44.2.
For the first time in championship history, the College of Idaho won the team national title with 87 points. The Yotes were led by Daniel Butler, who finished with a time of 23:54.1 in sixth place.
Hayden Bostrom, Elias Everist and Brevin Vaughan were also All-Americans for the Yotes.
Milligan (Tenn.) was the team runner-up with 96 points. The Buffs were led by their top finisher, Bryn Woodall, who placed fifth overall with a time of 23:49.5.
Other All-American finishers for the Buffs included Winston Telford, Blake Hipkiss, Zimri Kuhn and Bryson Lewis.
Cumberlands (Ky.) 155, The Master's (Calif.) 189 and Indiana Wesleyan 253 rounded out the top five team finishers.