Trio Of CAA Runners Earn All-Region, Jenkins Advances To NCAA's

Sophomore Eric Jenkins will become Northeastern's first delegate to represent the Huskies at the NCAA Cross Country Championship since Erik Nedeau competed in 1993 after the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Track & Field Committee announced team and individual qualifiers on Sunday evening.

The 2011 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship will take place on Monday, Nov. 21 at noon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course located at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind. Jenkins will carry the Colonial Athletic Association flag as the only competitor to run in Monday's finale from the CAA.

The Portsmouth, N.H. posted his second-consecutive top 25 finish at the 2011 NCAA Regional Championship (Audubon Golf Course) hosted by the University at Buffalo, anchoring the men's squad to a 12th-place finish out of 33 teams on Saturday, Nov. 12.

Jenkins completed the 10K test in 31:36.9, better than 229 other harriers on Saturday. As a top-25 performer, Jenkins was named to the Division I U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region Team (Northeast). Jenkins was recognized as one of 450 athletes that earned All-Region awards for cross country in Division I following this weekend's NCAA Regional Championships.

Thirty-one teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the nine regions, for a total of 18 teams. Thirteen additional teams were selected at-large.

Jenkins will be one of 38 individuals to participate on Monday as an automatic qualifier through the at-large selection process. All individual qualifiers finished in the top 25 in their region.

Northeastern's Bruce Bickford owns the Huskies' highest finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. Bickford finished 14th, overall, with a time of 28:58.62 in 1976. The most recent top-40 finish at the NCAA Championship was Brad Schlapak. He finished in 35th (30:12).

Jenkins was one of three CAA runners to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors as announced on Monday. Joining Jenkins was Valentin Poncelet of Georgia State and William & Mary's Alex McGrath.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) recognized 450 athletes that earned All-Region awards for cross country in Division I following this weekend's NCAA Regional Championships. Athletes of member schools that finished in the top 25 individually at one of the nine regional sites earned the honor.