Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach at Piedmont (2014-present)
Men’s Track & Field Atlantic Independent Champions (2018)
USA South Men’s Cross Country Champions (2015, 2016)
USA South Women’s Cross Country Champions (2016)
USA South Women’s Individual Champion & Runner of the Year (Reese Bowles, 2016)
USA South Women’s Rookie of the Year (Casey Todd, 2016)
USA South Coach of the Year (Men’s 2015, 2016; Women’s 2016)
36 All-Conference Finishers
One CoSIDA Academic All-District Selection
USTFCCCA Academic Award
Two USTFCCCA Indoor All-Region Selections
Seven USTFCCA Outdoor All-Region Honorees
Head Cross Country/Assistant Track & Field Coach at Troy University (2012-2014)
Mentored school record holder in women’s 3000m steeplechase (Julia Ostendorf, 10:51.18, 2014)
Guided 11 student-athletes to top-10 all-time marks in the program’s history
Led athletes to second-best mark in both the women’s indoor 5000m and 3000m
Collegiate Career at Huntingdon College (2008-2012)
Individual Champion in Great South Athletic Conference Championship (2011)
GSAC Runner of the Year (2011)
Three-time GSAC Champions as a team
All-Conference selection all four years
All-Freshman selection in 2008
Jeff Jenkins enters his fifth season at the helm as Head Track & Field and Cross Country Coach in 2018 with three USA South cross country championships with the Lions and Lady Lions. Jenkins, a former 3-time conference champion himself as a runner at fellow USA South member Huntingdon College, helped the Lions sweep the meet on their home course in 2016.
In four seasons so far as the leader of Piedmont’s cross country programs, Jenkins has already led both teams to championships including the men winning back-to-back titles in 2015 & 2016. The championship in 2015 marked the first men's title for any Piedmont athletic team since joining the USA South while the women's title in 2016 was their first since joining the league. Jenkins also mentored the 2016 USA South women's cross country individual champion Reese Bowles marking the first individual champion for Piedmont since joining the USA South.
Bowles' individual championship also earned her USA South Runner of the Year while freshman Casey Todd finished fourth overall taking USA South Rookie of the Year honors, another pair of firsts for the program in the USA South and under Jenkins' leadership. The women claimed six all-conference spots in 2016 winning the meet in dominant fashion by 43 points over Meredith College. The men's team took half of the all-conference spots with seven of the 14 first and second team all-conference athletes.
For his team's efforts, Jenkins was named USA South Coach of the Year for both Men's and Women's Cross Country in 2016, adding to his USA South Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year honor in 2015. During his four years at the helm, he has mentored 36 all-conference finishers.
The Piedmont College track and field programs began to take shape under Jenkins' leadership when he came to Piedmont with seven USTFCCCA All-region outdoor selections and a pair of indoor All-region award winners. The Lions also won the Atlantic Independent Championship in 2018 while the women placed second in the championship.
Jenkins came to Piedmont after a two-year stint with Troy University in Alabama where he served as the Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track & Field Coach for the Division I program. Jenkins guided 11 student-athletes to top-10 all-time marks in the program’s history including a number two mark in both the women’s indoor 5000m and 3000m. Jenkins also mentored the school’s record holder in the women’s 3000m steeplechase (10:51.18) when Julia Ostendorf placed 5th at the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championship.
Prior to joining the Trojans, Jenkins spent his time as a coaching intern at Auburn University and spent the summers from 2008-2010 working as an assistant coach with the Auburn Track Club cross country team helping his teams to USATF Junior Olympic Regional championships and also National Team Qualifiers.
Jenkins himself ran his collegiate days at fellow USA South member Huntingdon College where he was named an All-Conference selection in each of the four years he suited up for the program. He helped his squad to three Great South Athletic Conference Championships in his four years, and is the only cross country athlete in Huntingdon history to be part of three title-winning teams. He also saw individual success taking the GSAC Runner of the Year honor in 2011 after earning the individual championship with a time of 28:57.69 on the 8K course.
Jenkins is a 2012 graduate of Huntingdon College with a bachelor's degree in Coaching Education and a 2014 graduate of Troy University with a master's in Sport and Fitness Management.
Jenkins is certified through USA Track & Field as a Level III coach in endurance events and was recognized with a diploma from the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Academy and Indiana University as an Elite Endurance Coach.
