Point Park's Blatnik and Rio Grande's Jenkins named All-Americans at NAIA Outdoor National Championships
MARION, Ind. -- Point Park's (Pa.) Jakob Blatnik and Rio Grande's (Ohio) Tyler Jenkins each picked up All-American honors in their respective events on day one of the NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships hosted by Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Ind.
Blatnik finished inside the top eight in the javelin to earn the third All-American of his career, while Jenkins also earned the third All-American honor of his career after placing inside the top eight in the 10,000-meter run.
A junior from Ljubljana, Slovenia, Blatnik had a toss of 67.08 meters in his fourth attempt which earned him a national runner-up finish. He finished one spot behind David Friendberg of Reinhardt (Ga.), who had a toss of 71.88 meters in his sixth and final attempt.
The All-American honor is the third of the career for Blatnik, while the runner-up finish is his highest finish at nationals. He finished third in the javelin at both the 2022 and 2023 NAIA Outdoor National Championships.
Then, in the 10,000-meter run, Jenkins turned in a top eight finish after crossing the finish line in seventh place.
The sophomore from Barnesville, Ohio got off to a bit of a slow start but started to make his move between the 6,800-7,200-meter mark. During that span he went from 19th to 14th and entered the top-10 in the 8,400-meter mark en route to a seventh-place finish.
In the decathlon, Brecia's Ricardo Smith has gotten off to a solid start as he sits in fifth place through the first five events. He has compiled 3,545 total points with his best finish coming in the 100 meter and the long jump where he finished third in both.