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To say it's been quite the calendar year for Tyler Jenkins might be selling him short.
And, actually, the Barnesville High School graduate didn't necessarily see it coming.
"Looking back on everything, it's really kind of crazy," Jenkins said.
While it may seem crazy to go from All-Ohio on the track for the first time and then to the NAIA National Cross Country Championship Meet as a freshman at Rio Grande in basically five months, it really simply could boil down to talent, dedication and hard work all combining to pay dividends.
"I went into (high school) track season knowing I wanted to be All-Ohio, but things started slowly for me and I guess I really raced myself into shape because things really started picking up for me into the championship meets," Jenkins pointed out.
Shortly after he finished fourth in the Division II state meet in a blazing 9:19.83, Jenkins shifted his attention to Rio Grande College and cross country.
"I was in the best shape of my life at the start of June and then after a short time off and when I got back into (training), it was rough for a while because it was like my body didn't have a clue of what was going on," Jenkins said.
He arrived at Rio Grande in early August and wasted no time in acclimating himself to the team and showing his teammates what he was capable of doing.
"It was pretty crazy, to the say the least, how quickly I got into shape when I got to Rio and could run with other people," Jenkins explained.
On the course, Jenkins started the season with a solid 15:26 for 5K on a course, which he and his coaches knew was actually longer than 5,000 meters. That time resonated with his coaches.
While the 5K distance was totally familiar to him because that's what high school competes at in cross country, Jenkins knew the jump up to 8,000 meters, which is the distance of college championship meets, was still going to be an adjustment. Or was it?
Jenkins' first crack at the distance came in the All-Ohio Championships where he turned in a sub 26-minute performance, which was basically his personal goal for the entire season.
"Once I hit that time, I thought, 'well, I guess I can go sub 25," Jenkins admitted.
As the season rolled along, Jenkins continued to pile up impressive marks and earned a myriad of accolades. He was named River States Conference Runner of the Week an astounding four times during the season.
"It was definitely cool to receive those awards," Jenkins said. "The coolest part, however, is when my teammates all took the time to applaud me on social media and things like that. It really meant a lot to me."
Jenkins' season was also recognized nationally. He was named USTFCCA's National Runner of the Week.
The latest came earlier this month after he won the RedStorm Classic by upwards of 30 seconds with a time of 15:52.6.
That was his third victory of the season.
"I was really, really surprised with the national runner of the week award," Jenkins said. "It wasn't like I ran some kind of crazy time. I don't even think I ran that great."
Jenkins was named the conference's 'Newcomer of the Year' after he placed third in the conference championship meet.
The season came to an end just a week ago for Jenkins at the national meet where he finished the race in 26:24 despite being under the weather. He finished 201st overall.
"I didn't imagine as good of a season as I had," Jenkins said. "I think the experience of the national meet will pay off for me down the road ... maybe even next year."
While Jenkins got to experience the biggest meet in NAIA as a freshman, he keeps in mind that he didn't qualify for a state meet in high school until he was a senior, so he's not going to get discouraged with last weekend's place.
"I have some huge goals set for myself and I can't wait until next season," Jenkins said.
"I just have to keep working to achieve them."
While Jenkins spent some time at home in Barnesville for Thanksgiving, he's headed back to Rio Grande to resume classes and shift focus to indoor track season, which starts Dec. 3 with a meet at Wittenberg.
"Moving into track season will be cool," Jenkins admitted. "I've really continued to train hard and will keep that up for the first two indoor meets with the hope of earning a qualifying standard in the 5K and then take some time off before resuming the training for the end of indoor and into outdoor season."
BERNABEI ADDRESSES OVAC VARSITY BOARD
I had the opportunity to listen in to Joanna Bernabei-McNamee's speech to the OVAC Varsity Board recently.
Bernabei-McNamee, who is a Madonna High School graduate, member of the OVAC and West Liberty Halls of Fame and currently the head women's basketball coach at Boston College, spoke to students from all over the conference via Zoom.
Leadership was the chief subject on what she spoke.
"It wasn't until my sophomore year of college until I realized the impact I could have (on my team and others) as a leader," Bernabei-McNamee said. "I wanted to be great at my sport and was really self-consumed into that, so I didn't put as much time into my teammates, friends and impacting other people."
She told the group that how they present and carry themselves on a daily basis goes a long way in becoming a leader. She also talked about self-awareness in terms of being a leader.
"You need self-awareness to be a great leader," she said. "Ask yourself whether or not the room feels instantly encouraged or discouraged when you're there. It's not just what you say or do, but how you make people around you feel matters a lot, too. The best leaders, and most mature people, can put themselves in other people's shoes."
Other topics she touched on included attitude, focus and avoiding negativity.
"Being negative only brings one thing ... negativity," Bernabei-McNaee said. "Attitude is a choice and energy is a weapon. Everyone can find a negative, but only special leaders can find a way to spin things to the positive and get it neutral."
The speech was tremendous and there's no doubt in my mind that it impacted the students who listened.
Kudos to Buckeye Local Principal Luke Parsons, who oversees the Varsity Board, for his efforts in securing Bernabei-McNamee as a speaker.