(St. George, Utah – Oct. 11, 2023) - The Utah Tech men's and women's cross country teams return to California on Saturday for the UC Riverside Highlander Invitational at the UCR Agricultural Operations Course. The men's 8K race will get underway at 9 a.m. MT, followed by the women's 6K race at 9:40 a.m. MT.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS: UC Riverside, Utah Tech, Long Beach State, California Baptist, San Diego State (women), Pomona-Pitzer, Chapman, Cal State Los Angeles, Caltech, Occidental, Redlands, Vanguard

• On the men's side, California Baptist is ranked No. 14 in the nation and No. 1 in the USTFCCCA West Region poll while UC Riverside is No. 12.
• On the women's side, California Baptist is ranked No. 12 nationally and No. 3 in the USTFCCCA West Region poll while UC Riverside is No. 12.

COURSE: The UC Riverside course is mostly flat with a few rolling hills, and hard packed dirt with pre-competition watering to reduce dust. It is run through agricultural operations center which features 100-year-old citrus trees.

SUU COLOR COUNTRY INVITATIONAL: The Blazers are coming off competing at the Southern Utah Color Country Invitational last Saturday with senior Shakayla Morgan finishing eighth in the women's 4K and freshman Kyle Neuenschwander checking in fifth in the men's 6K.

UC RIVERSIDE INVITATIONAL: In their last time in California, the Trailblazers competed at the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 16 with Morgan leading the women in the 6K (21:39.5) and Neuenschwander clocking the fastest time on the men's side running the 8K in a time of 24:49.5.

UTAH VALLEY INVITATIONAL: The women's 5K race at the UVU Invite was headlined by Morgan who clocked a time of 18:12.8 for a 23rd-place finish on Sept. 1. The Trailblazer men posted solid times as well led by Neuenschwander with a time of 15:10.4 for a team-best 27th-place finish in the 5K.

TOP TEN TIMES IN PROGRAM HISTORY: Through the first three races of the season, the Trailblazers have seen 16 top ten times in program history between the men and the women. In the season opener at Utah Valley, seven Blazers posted top ten times in the 5K while Neuenschwander raced to the fourth-fastest time in program history in the 8K at the UC Riverside Invitational. The men added three more top 10 times at Southern Utah with Neuenschwander, Kyle Newton and Quinton Read posting the fourth, fifth and 10th-fastest times in program history in the 6K.

On the women's side, Morgan and freshman Averie Perriton posted the third and 10th-fastest times, respectively, in the 5K at the UVU Invitational and Morgan raced to the seventh-best mark in the 6K at the UCR Invitational. The women added the sixth and ninth-fastest times in the 4K at the SUU Color Country Invitational posted by Morgan and Perriton.

WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2023 WAC Cross Country Championships are set for Oct. 27 hosted by Abilene Christian at Zoe Park in Abilene, Texas. The men's 8K is set for 7 a.m. MT and the women's 6K is 7:45 a.m. MT.

The women placed ninth at the 2022 WAC Championships while the men placed 10th. Junior Rylee Jacobsen is the Blazers' top returning runner on the women's side and senior Quinton Read is the top returner on the men's side.

HEAD COACH JUSTIN DECKER: Justin Decker (Utah Tech, 2008) is in his 13th season at the helm of the Utah Tech cross country program. During his tenure at Utah Tech, Decker has mentored 24 all-conference, seven all-region, and two All-American athletes (Rachel Young in 2012 and Billie Hatch in 2019). In addition, he has earned certification as a USA Track & Field Level 1 Coach and USTFCCCA Endurance Event Specialist. 

Coach Decker grew up in St. George and graduated from Pine View High School in 2004. After high school, he attended then-Dixie State and competed on the cross country team during the 2007 and 2008 seasons while serving as the team's captain and SAAC representative. He graduated from Utah Tech in 2008 with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and graduated from Southern Utah University with a Master's degree in Business Administration in 2013.

2022 SEASON IN REVIEW: After competing in four regular season meets during the 2022 season, the Utah Tech women's team placed ninth at the 2022 WAC Cross Country Championships while the men took 10th as a team.

2023 ROSTER: The Trailblazer men will see nine of its 14 student-athletes be freshmen followed by a pair of juniors and three seniors.

The top returner from the 2022 WAC Championships for the men is senior Quinton Read who was the Trailblazers' third-fastest finisher clocking a time of 25:13.5. Other top returners include junior Julien Canales and senior Nick Roach.

On the women's side, Utah Tech will feature seven freshmen, four sophomores, two juniors and one senior. Junior Rylee Jacobsen is Utah Tech's top returner from the WAC Championships who placed 46th and senior Shakayla Morgan took 54th. Other top returners include sophomores Lexi Larsen & Alexia Corona and junior Mariah Skinner.