A native of Nacoochee, Georgia, Jenna Gearing joined the Auburn track & field staff in 2026 after spending the previous four seasons at Penn State as the program’s director of operations while also assisting with the distance program. 
 
The Nittany Lion women’s cross country team went its third consecutive NCAA Championship appearance, finishing tenth as team, improving five spots from the previous season. The squad also finished second at the Big Ten Championships in 2025, the program’s best result since 2016.
 
During the 2024–25 season, Penn State’s cross country and track & field programs combined for 13 All-America performances. The women’s cross country team posted its best NCAA finish in over a decade, placing 15th at the 2024 NCAA Championships, while the men recorded their highest individual finisher since 2013.
  
In 2023, the Nittany Lion women’s cross country program qualified for the NCAA Championships as a team for the first time since 2019. At the regional level, the men’s and women’s squads combined for six All-Region honors.
 
Gearing competed at Clemson during her undergrad years and finished her collegiate career as a graduate student at Kentucky where she earned First Team All-America honors on the Wildcats’ 2022 DMR team.