NEWVILLE, PA-- Senior Eric Jackson became UC Santa Cruz's first All American in over 40 years after a stupendous finish at the 2023 Division III Cross Country Championships.

Running as an individual, the senior from Belmont finished 40th in the 8K race with a time of 25:09.8 to earn All American distinction. Jackson, the three-time conference champion and school record holder, slowly made up ground in the last 2,000 meters and surged past four runners down the stretch to clinch the last All-American spot by over a second. He improved by 77 places and over a minute from last year's debut at Nationals.

The last Banana Slug to finish in an All American spot at Nationals was Armando Siqueiros, who finished in the top ten in both 1981 and 1982.