Erik Jenkins - Track & Field Coach - Western Kentucky University Athletics

Erik Jenkins

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
erik.jenkins@wku.edu
Phone:
(270) 745-6024

Coaching Honors

• All-Americans: 49 individuals, 14 relays - 103 total student-athletes
• NCAA Qualifiers: 63 individuals, 22 relays - 152 total (including alternates)
• NCAA Regional/Preliminary Qualifiers: 206 individuals, 27 relays - 317 total (including alternates)
•Sun Belt/C-USA Event Champions: 176 individual events, 24 relays - 200 total performances
• All-Sun Belt/C-USA honors: 501 individual events, 41 relays, 651 total student-athletes
        • Cross Country: 37
        • Indoor T&F: 212 individual events, 13 relays
        • Outdoor T&F: 252 individual events, 28 relays
• SBC/C-USA Team Championships: 30
• SBC/C-USA Most Outstanding Performers: 26
• SBC/C-USA Coach-of-the-Year Honors: 21
• SBC/C-USA Freshmen of the Year: 7
• SBC/C-USA Top Point Scorers: 12
• 2017 KTCCCA University Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year
• 2016 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year
• 2015 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year
• 2014 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year
• 2009 USTFCCCA Southeast Region Women's Coach of the Year

Erik Jenkins was named head coach of both the men's and women's track and field programs at WKU on January 1, 2008 after spending the previous eight years as an assistant on The Hill. Jenkins - a native of Quincy, Fla., and a 1995 graduate of James A. Shanks High School - was in charge of sprinters, jumpers and recruiting for the programs prior to taking over head coaching duties.

A WKU graduate himself, Jenkins has continued WKU's storied track and field/cross country success, leading the programs to a combined 30 Sun Belt and Conference USA Championships since 2008. Jenkins and his staff have developed a knack for producing All-Americans, leading athletes to a combined 103 All-America honors. The All-American breakdown by season reads: cross country 3, Indoor 11 + 2 relays and outdoor 35 + 12 relays. Throughout his time as the head coach on The Hill, Jenkins has been voted the Coach of the Year 21 times, with three selections by his Conference USA peers.

The 2018-19 school year saw numerous record-breaking performances along with 15 All-Conference honors and four All-American nods (Annastacia Forrester, Kymari Gates, 4x100 relay (O) and 4x400 relay (I)). The Hilltoppers' indoor 4x400 relay squad turned heads with a dominating time of 3:03.24 at the Boston University Last Chance Qualifer to earn a spot at the indoor National Championships for the first time since 2008. Dual-sport student-athlete Katie Isenbarger collected Second-Team All-Conference recognition in the women's indoor high jump breaking the program record before winning the outdoor crown with another school-record jump.

While the 2017-18 school year marked the first of Jenkins’ time at the helm in which the team didn’t bring home a conference championship, there were still many successes throughout the campaign. The Red and White brought home eight Conference USA event crowns, including the indoor and outdoor women’s pole vault titles by Morgan McIntyre along with outdoor titles in the men’s 200m, 400 hurdles, long jump and 4x400-meter relay in addition to the long jump, 400m and 400 hurdles on the women’s. Julius Morris capped his career on The Hill with five All-C-USA honors, three All-American nods and the men’s outdoor 200-meter dash title. WKU saw Morris (200m) and both the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays head to Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Championships while 10 individuals combined for three All-American performances.

In his 10^th season at the helm (2016-17), Jenkins led WKU to its 30^th league championship as the men brought home the C-USA Outdoor Championships crown while Jenkins was tabbed the league’s Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season, his 21^st career recognition. The Hilltoppers claimed five event titles at the Championships from El Paso, Texas, including two by both Julius Morris (100m, 200m) and Ventavius Sears (long jump, triple jump) in addition to the 4x100-meter relay bragging rights. Sears claimed a total of four Conference USA individual event crowns while running a leg of the indoor 4x400-meter relay as well. Sears wrapped up his career with three All-America honors on the season (indoor long jump, outdoor long jump, outdoor 4x400). Sears was voted the C-USA Indoor Men’s Field Performer of the Meet in both 2016 and ’17 and also claimed three Men’s High Point Scorer of the Meet nods across his career under Jenkins’ guidance.

Emmanuel Dasor also wrapped up his career for the Red and White in 2017, less than a year after representing his home country of Ghana at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Dasor claimed honorable mention All-American status in the 400-meter dash from Eugene while also securing the Conference USA indoor crown in the discipline. Dasor grabbed six All-Conference accolades during his senior campaign on The Hill.

WKU opened the 2017 outdoor season ranked No. 23 in the USTFCCCA men’s poll, marking the second time the program earned a preseason ranking. The Hilltoppers were joined by Houston as the only non-Power Five programs ranked in the top-25 preseason poll. Two weeks later after holding steady at No. 23, the Hilltoppers climbed to No. 21 in the USTFCCCA Poll, the best in-season ranking the program has ever achieved.

In their second season as a Conference USA member, the Hilltoppers continued their indoor dominance, repeating as the men’s indoor league champions while also claiming the outdoor crown for the first time. Jenkins guided three individuals to the NCAA Indoor Championships (Dasor 100m, 200m; Carrol Hardy 60m; Sears triple jump) while nine more performances earned outdoor All-American status. Across the season, WKU racked up 21 Conference USA event championships. Jenkins was named the league’s Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year and the Men’s Outdoor Coach of the Year for the Hilltoppers’ success.

Jenkins guided the WKU squad into its Conference USA era with tremendous success during the 2014-15 season. The Hilltoppers claimed the league’s indoor title while WKU won the outdoor championship on the women’s side as Jenkins was tabbed both the league’s Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year and Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year. At the conference level, WKU racked up 20 event crowns, including both the men’s and women’s cross country individual titles. Follow their success at the conference level, 23 Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers competed at the NCAA Preliminaries. Nine WKU representatives went on to compete on the national stage with six Hilltopper performances earning All-American status.

Seventeen of those aforementioned All-American performances came in WKU's historic 2014 outdoor season in which seven athletes combined for 10 First-Team All-American performances.

Jenkins has racked up 21 Sun Belt and Conference USA Coach of the Year honors since taking over the helm, including back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Women's Coach of the Year honors in 2014 after guiding the Lady Toppers to indoor and outdoor championships. In 2014, Jenkins was named the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year while leading the Hilltoppers to a 18th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Hilltoppers reached No. 26 in the national rankings in 2014, which was their highest ranking in program history at the time. Jenkins led the Hilltoppers to a fourth-place ranking in the final Southeast Region index behind only Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.

Jenkins also received the Women's Coach of the Year honor from the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (KTCCCA) in 2013, which gives him four-consecutive Women's Coach of the Year honors from the organization. He has also been named the KTCCCA Men's Coach of the Year in 2009 and 2012.

Both the Hilltopper and Lady Topper programs reached new heights during the 2013-14 indoor and outdoor seasons under Jenkins' direction. The Lady Toppers reached their highest USTFCCCA ranking in school history at No. 22 on April 29 and came in at No. 23 on May 13. The Hilltoppers also reached their highest USTFCCCA ranking (at the time) at No. 26 on May 13. Both teams reached the highest ranking of any Sun Belt Conference team in conference history.

Jenkins led a school-record 13 athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and had 19 athletes qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships. A school-record seven athletes earned First-Team All-American honors, headlined by the highest relay finishes in program history. WKU's 4x400-meter relay (Chris Chamness, Emmanuel Dasor, Ventavius Sears, Elvyonn Bailey) qualified for finals for the first time in school history and finished fourth at 3:03.99 seconds behind Texas A&M, Florida and LSU. The 4x100-meter relay (Ja'Karyus Redwine, Sears, Dasor, Bailey) qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time ever and reached the finals, placing fifth with a time of 39.43 seconds. WKU joined Texas A&M, Florida and LSU as the only teams in the country to place top five in both relays.

Tomas Guerra finished sixth-place in the javelin throw at the NCAA Championships to secure First-Team All-American honors for the second-straight year while Jessica Ramsey became the first Lady Topper in history to garner All-American honors in the shot put, nabbing First Team honors with an eighth-place showing. Ramsey was also a Second-Team All-American in the hammer throw and a honorable mention All-American in the shot put. The Hilltoppers finished with 12 team points at the NCAA Championships, good enough for an 18th-place finish, the highest for any WKU sport since men's basketball made the Sweet 16 in 2008.

Ramsey was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year and Bailey was named the Southeast Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year, becoming the first athletes in WKU Track and Field history to garner the awards. Jenkins was tabbed the Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year while assistant coach Ashley Muffet-Duncan secured Southeast Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

Jenkins guided the Lady Toppers to Sun Belt Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships in 2014, which was spearheaded by five combined individual titles from Jessica Ramsey. The Lady Toppers posted the second-highest point total in SBC history at the indoor championships with 169 points, trailing only the 2010 Lady Toppers' output of 179.3 points. The Hilltoppers finished second in both the indoor and outdoor championships but combined to win 12 individual titles and capture 25 All-Sun Belt Conference honors. The Lady Toppers finished with nine individual champions and 28 All-Conference honorees in the two championships. The WKU squads combined to break 12 school records during the 2013-14 indoor and outdoor seasons.

Jessica Ramsey was named the Sun Belt Conference Most Outstanding Women's Field Performer at both the indoor and outdoor championships while Elvyonn Bailey was the Top Point Scorer and Men's Most Outstanding Track Athlete at the outdoor championships. Freshmen Ventavius Sears and Sandra Akachukwu were named Most Outstanding Freshmen at the 2014 SBC Indoor Championships.

During the 2013 cross country season, Jenkins guided David Mokone to an individual Sun Belt Conference title at the SBC Championships and tutored four All-Conference selections overall. The Lady Toppers finished third at the championships and were led by second and fourth-place showings from Lindsey Hinken and Katie Lever. The Hilltoppers finished fifth at the SBC Championships and were sparked by Mokone's title and freshman Peter Agaba's All-Conference performance.

Although only the WKU men's indoor track and field team was the only squad to secure a championship in 2012-2013, it was still another landmark year for Jenkins and the WKU Track and Field program. With Joseph Chebet earning All-American honors at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, David Mokone capturing All-American status at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships and Tomas Guerra and Sharika Smith also nabbing All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, it marked the first time since 1992 that WKU produced All-Americans in the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons.

The 2012 cross country season was highlighted by the dominance of Joseph Chebet, who became the first Hilltopper runner since Sean Dollman in 1992 to capture All-American honors. Chebet finished 35th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships to cap a season that saw him win three races, including the Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championship. Teammate David Mokone finished fourth at the conference championships to join Chebet on the Sun Belt Conference First Team. For the Lady Toppers a youthful unit was led by freshman Lindsey Hinken, who nabbed All-Sun Belt honors with a seventh-place finish at the league championships.

The WKU men's indoor track and field team became the first Sun Belt team since 2003-04 to win back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, outpacing league foes with 139 team points. All-American David Mokone won the 800- and 1,500-meter runs and finished second in the 3,000-meter run to earn Most Outstanding Track Performer and Top Point scorer award. Mokone would advance to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 800-meter run and place 14th. The Lady Toppers placed fifth at the indoor championships and were led by title-winning, school-record performances from Jessica Ramsey (shot put) and Sharika Smith (triple jump).

The outdoor season was headlined by school-record performances by a pair of Hilltoppers and a trio of Lady Toppers. Mokone broke his own school record in the 800-meter run and recorded the fifth-fastest time in the NCAA regular season with a time of 1:47.51 at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 18, 2013. He would go on to nab Second-Team All-American honors in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Newcomer Elvyonn Bailey also set a record for the Hilltoppers, clocking a 46.17-second 400-meter dash in the preliminaries of the Sun Belt Conference Championships to set the mark. For the Lady Toppers, Sharika Smith continued to set and re-set her own triple jump record, ultimately ending her career with a record jump of 44-feet-1 1/4 inches at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to secure First-Team All-American honors. Jessica Ramsey shattered the shot put record with a heave of 52-feet-4 1/4 inches at the Troy Invitational while Karleigh Parker set the pole vault record at 13-feet-3 1/2 inches.

Nine WKU athletes advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the third time WKU has accomplished the feat since 2000. Since Jenkins took the program reins, 46 athletes have qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Triple jumper Sharika Smith and javelin thrower Tomas Guerra both placed seventh in their respective events to earn first-team All-American honors at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships while Mokone notched second-team honors with a 14th-place finish in the 800-meter run.

In six years at the helm of the track and field program, Jenkins' teams continued to be a dominant force in the Sun Belt Conference and have become known across the country as a program that will have a balanced group of athletes at the regional and national level.

When taking the handoff from 27-year head coaching legend Dr. Curtiss Long prior to the 2008 indoor season, the WKU track and field program was in the midst of undoubtedly the most successful time period in the history of the women's program. At the time, the Lady Toppers had won seven-straight league championships. When Jenkins was promoted, the women continued their SBC dominance with a conference winning streak that stands at 17-straight championships heading into the 2011-12 academic year - the longest league championship streak in the nation. The women's cross country team extended the streak to 18 in 2011, but it was snapped after finishing 5th at the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Hilltoppers also had a very successful run to this point in Jenkins' head-coaching tenure, having won 11 Sun Belt titles since his promotion, including five-straight league outdoor team championships from 2008-12.

The 2011-2012 season was highlighted by the first men's triple crown in school history as WKU captured Sun Belt Championships in Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field and Outdoor Track and Field. The women's cross country team also notched another title, bringing Jenkins' total championships to 22 (12 women, 10 men). Five individuals qualified for NCAA Championships, headlined by javelin thrower Ignacio Guerra's fourth place finish in the javelin throw. Guerra was named First-Team All-American for the second-straight year. Monteka Flowers also earned All-America honors, as she was named to the second team after a 15^th-place finish in the discus. Jade Nimmo was the third and final All-American for the Hilltoppers in 2012, as she earned second team honors after a 12th-place finish in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sophomore distance runner David Mokone made significant contributions as well, winning three individual Sun Belt titles in the Indoor and Outdoor Sun Belt Championships. He was named Most Outstanding Track Performer in both conference championships.

The 2011 cross country season saw both the men's and women's squads sweep the Sun Belt Championships, placing four top-10 finishers on the men's side and three on the women's side, including the overall winner Marion Kandie.

During the 2010-2011 season, the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers combined to win four Sun Belt Conference titles and have six all-Americans, while Jenkins collected SBC Coach-of-the-Year honors at the women's outdoor championship. Shadrack Kipchirchir was the top-finishing freshman at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championship, finishing 27th. During the indoor campaign, Sharika Smith became just the second student-athlete in WKU's storied track & field history to earn multiple all-America honors in a single meet, when she earned second-team honors in the long jump and honorable mention honors in the triple jump.

Also in the 2010-11 season, WKU had two national qualifiers in cross country, one student-athlete qualify for two indoor national events, ten preliminary round outdoor qualifiers, and three outdoor national final qualifiers. WKU collected the individual titles on both the men's and women's side during the cross country season, added four event champions at the SBC indoor meet, and had eleven event champions at the SBC outdoor meet.

In his second full academic year as head coach in 2009-10, the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers combined to win five Sun Belt Conference titles for the second year in-a-row. The WKU women captured the program's fourth consecutive SBC “triple crown” - winning league titles in cross country, indoor, and outdoor - while the men captured the second indoor title in three years and the third-straight SBC outdoor title. In recognition of the program's success in 2009-10, Jenkins was voted by league coaches as the Sun Belt Coach of the Year for women's indoor and men's and women's outdoor, marking the ninth, 10th and 11th such honors in his 29-month tenure at the helm of the programs.

WKU once again had strong representation at the NCAA national championships in 2009-10. Janet Jesang and Patrick Cheptoek each qualified for cross country nationals, where Jesang earned the fourth all-America honor of her career with an 11th-place finish, and Cheptoek finished 91st. Jesang then pulled double duty at the NCAA Indoor Championship, where she finished 12th in the 5,000 meters and 13th in the 3,000 meters. During the 2010 outdoor campaign, WKU qualified 15 individuals and three relays to the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in Greensboro, NC, with every event group being represented by an athlete in a WKU uniform. With strong showings in the Preliminary Rounds, 11 WKU athletes advanced to the NCAA finals in Eugene, including the women's 4x100-meter relay, the men's 4x400-meter relay, Cheptoek in the 10,000 meters, Deus Rwaheru in the 5,000 meters, and Andrejs Maskancevs in the long jump. In Eugene, Jenkins helped Maskancevs to a seventh-place finish with a leap of 25-0.75, making him the fifth individual to earn all-America honors in the long jump in WKU history.

In all, 15 WKU records were set during the 09-10 school year, including four new school standards in the jumps, three each in the middle distances and the throws, two in the relays and one each in the long distances, hurdles, and combined events. Taking a closer look at Jenkins' sprinters and jumpers, the men and women combined to have 29 all-Sun Belt performances in the 2009-10 indoor and outdoor seasons, while also capturing five individual league titles.

Jenkins led the men and women to a banner year in 2008-09. The Lady Toppers made another successful run for the Sun Belt Conference triple crown, and the men came within four points of claiming the first men's triple crown in conference history, taking the league titles in cross country and outdoor track and field, while falling just four points shy of Middle Tennessee during the indoor championship.

For his efforts, Jenkins was named SBC Coach-of-the-Year for men's cross country and outdoor track and field and in women's indoor and outdoor track and field, while assistant coach Michelle Scott earned Coach-of-the-Year laurels for women's cross country. WKU's success during the 2008-09 school year was further recognized as Jenkins' coaching peers named him Women's Southeast Region Coach-of-the-Year through the United State Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

On a regional and national level, WKU had one of its best years in school history in 08-09. The men and women combined to send 21 student-athletes to the NCAA Mideast Regional during the outdoor season, including representation in the sprints, relays, jumps, distances and throws. Then, 14 of those athletes advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including two relays, two individuals in the sprints, and one individual each in the distances and jumps. For the indoor season, seven individuals qualified for the national championships, while another athlete and relay ran provisional-qualifying times during the season.

Janet Jesang became just the fourth athlete in school history to earn all-America honors in all three disciplines - 13th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, seventh in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and fifth in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. For her efforts on the 2008-09 academic year, Jesang was named WKU's John Oldham Female Student-Athlete of the Year. At the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships, joining Jesang with USTFCCCA all-America honors was Valerie Brown, who finished third in the 400-meter dash. Also, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Miaie Williams, Samantha Smith, Alecia Brown and Valerie Brown finished 11th at the national indoor meet, defeating Seton Hall and Auburn.

After winning the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Mideast Regional, Gavin Smellie joined Jesang in earning USTFCCCA all-America honors at the NCAA outdoor championship, as he finished fifth in the finals to earn the second national honor in his Hilltopper career. Williams advanced to the second round of the women's 200-meter dash at the NCAA outdoor championship, while Mandhla Mgijima narrowly missed making the finals of the long jump, placing 14th. Also, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of Smellie, Alexander Larin, Romaine McKay, and Terrill McCombs placed 13th after taking runner-up honors at the NCAA Mideast Regional.

Smellie went on to have a great summer running for his home country of Canada. Competing in his second Summer Universiade, Smellie finished sixth in the finals of the 200-meter dash. Also, Smellie was one of 31 athletes named to the Berlin World Championship team by Athletics Canada, where he advanced to the second round of the 200-meter dash. Brown also made a move into the national stage after her all-America efforts during the indoor season. She advanced to the second round of the 400-meter dash at the USATF Championships in Eugene, Ore., and also ran internationally in Canada and Europe. Still training with Coach Jenkins, Brown also took seventh-place in the 400-meter dash at the USA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque.

During the 2009 indoor campaign, Brown earned Most Outstanding Track Athlete laurels for winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes in NCAA provisional qualifying fashion at the SBC meet. At that same meet, Sharika Smith was named the league's Most Outstanding Freshman after winning the long jump, finishing fourth in the triple jump, fifth in the 55-meter hurdles and sixth in the 200-meter dash.

At the 2009 Sun Belt outdoor meet, Smellie was named men's Outstanding Track Performer, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes with times of 10.29 and 20.73, respectively, as well as running a leg on the winning and school-record setting 4x100-meter relay team along with Mgijima, McCombs and Tory Womack with a time of 39.93. Mgijima enjoyed a stellar individual weekend as well, and was named co-Outstanding Field Performer for his winning leap of 25-11 in the long jump and third-place finish in the triple jump at 50-4.50.

Jenkins' first season as head coach goes down as arguably the most successful in the program's history, with both the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers sweeping the Sun Belt Conference titles at the league's indoor and outdoor championships. Jenkins was handsomely rewarded as the league's Coach of the Year four times in his first season - men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field - giving him a perfect four-for-four record in his inaugural season at the helm of WKU's track and field programs.

Jenkins has made a name for himself as one of the top sprint coaches in the nation. After coaching Jonathan Brown to all-America honors in the 100- and 200-meter dashes during the 2004 campaign, Jenkins assembled the first all-America relay team in school history during the 2008 school year. The quartet of Larin, McKay, Smellie and McCombs finished eighth in the 4x400-meter relay at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

WKU had a school-record 17 athletes qualify to compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional in 2008. Among those qualifiers, Jenkins coached both the men's and women's 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays to the meet for the second-consecutive year, joining an elite list of schools to accomplish that feat. Of the four WKU relays, the men's 4x400 team of Larin, McKay, Smellie, and McCombs earned all-Mideast Region honors with a third-place finish, while the women's 4x100 team of Temi Akojie, Williams, Kellie Morrison and Brown earned similar honors with a fourth-place finish, and the women's 4x400 team of Alecia Brown, Williams, Morrison, and V. Brown was fifth to earn all-Region honors. In addition, McCombs earned all-Mideast Region team honors for the second-consecutive year and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 400-meter dash with a fifth-place finish, while Smellie earned all-Region honors and received an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships in the 200m. WKU had strong representation at the 2008 NCAA outdoor championships, with both the men's and women's 4x400m relays, McCombs in the 200-meter dash and Smellie in the 400-meter dash.

On the conference level, the Hilltoppers won every sprint race at the 2008 Sun Belt indoor and outdoor championships, with Smellie taking top honors in the indoor 55 meters, outdoor 100 and 200 meters, and McCombs winning the indoor 200 and 400 meters, as well as the outdoor 400 meters. In all, the WKU sprinters won 11 sprint races during the 2008 season at the league meets, while earning 30 all-SBC accolades.

Jenkins has also had success coaching at the international level. In 2007, Smellie earned runner-up honors at the Canadian Track Championships in the 200-meter dash, qualifying to compete in the World University Games, where he finished fifth. Also in 2007, McCombs qualified to compete in the Pan-American Junior Games after a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash at the USA Junior Nationals. In 2008, Smellie finished third at the Canadian Championships, qualifying to compete in the U-23 NACACs in Mexico.

In addition, Jenkins has mentored seven WKU football/track athletes including former WKU record-holder Rod “He Hate Me” Smart (200m), as well as Mel Mitchell and Joseph Jefferson, who all played in the NFL. Now, Jenkins is building a reputation for coaching multi-sport student-athletes. Competing in his first year of collegiate track in 2004, Dennis Mitchell, a starting defensive back on the Hilltopper football team (who later played in the Canadian Football League), had the ninth-fastest 100-meter dash time in the nation at 10.19 seconds, making him arguably the fastest player in college football that year. All-SBC basketball standout Tiffany Porter-Talbert was also one of Jenkins' student-athletes. In her first year of college track in 2004, Porter-Talbert qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional, making her one of a select number of female student-athletes in the country to participate in NCAA post-season competition in multiple sports. Later on, Jenkins coached Hilltopper football player Derrius Brooks to all-SBC honors at the 2008 indoor championships, while WKU basketball standout Jeremy Evans - who earned Sun Belt tournament MVP honors on the hardwood - earned runner-up honors in the high jump at the 2008 Sun Belt outdoor meet. Most recently, Jenkins added WKU Football wide receiver Will Bush to his resume of multi-sport athletes coached. Bush excelled in the sprints and went on to earn honorable mention All-American status in 2018 as part of the Hilltoppers’ 4x100-meter relay squad.

As a collegian, Jenkins was a four-year letterwinner at WKU from 1995-99, where he was a Sun Belt Conference champion, NCAA qualifier, and six-time all-league performer. His primary event was the long jump, where he was crowned SBC champion and Performer of the Meet while qualifying for the NCAA Championships in 1999. He also competed for the Hilltoppers in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and was a member of the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays.

Jenkins earned his bachelor's degree in mass communications from WKU in 2000; he earned a master's degree in corporate communications at WKU in 2002. Jenkins has also earned USATF Level II certifications in the sprints, jumps and throws. He has a daughter, Erykah, and son, Erik, and is married to the former Kacey Lusk, a WKU graduate.