Men's Cross Country | 10/30/2024 1:00:00 PM

(St. George, Utah – Oct. 30, 2024) - The Utah Tech men's and women's cross country teams travel to the WAC Cross Country Championships on Friday hosted by Utah Valley at Lakeside Park in Orem.

Who | WAC Cross Country Championships
When | Friday, Nov. 1 – Women's 6K - 10 a.m. | Men's 8K - 10:45 a.m.
Where | Lakeside Park - Orem, Utah
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X) + #UtahTechBlazers

PARTICIPATING TEAMS: Abilene Christian, California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Seattle U, Southern Utah, Tarleton State, UT Arlington, Utah Tech, Utah Valley

• Women
  • Utah Valley - No. 5 - Mountain Region
  • California Baptist - No. 11 - West Region
  • Southern Utah - No. 14 - Mountain Region
• Men
  • California Baptist - No. 3 - West Region & No. 14 nationally
  • Utah Valley - No. 11 - Mountain Region
  • Southern Utah - No. 13 - Mountain Region

2024 WAC Women's Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll

1. Utah Valley
2. California Baptist
3. Southern Utah
4. UT Arlington
5. Seattle U 

2024 WAC Men's Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll

1. California Baptist
2. Utah Valley
3. Southern Utah
4. Grand Canyon
5. Tarleton State

LOOK BACK AT 2023 WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS & WAC XC CHAMPIONSHIPS FINISHES
The Trailblazer men finished fifth at the WAC Cross Country Championships scoring 165 points and return three of its top six runners from last season in Kyle Neuenschwander (31st), Trent Holiday (43rd) and Dawson Leffler (47th).

On the women's side, the women took seventh as a team racking up 200 points and also return three runners from a season ago in Lexi Larsen (42nd), Averie Perriton (55th) and Erin McKinnon (79th).

Women                                              

• 2023 - 7th                                         
• 2022 - 9th
• 2021 - 5th
• Spring 2021 - 6th

Men

• 2023 - 5th
• 2022 - 10th
• 2021 - 5th
• Spring 2021 - 5th

NEUENSCHWANDER SETS 8K AT SANTA CLARA BRONCO INVITATIONAL
Sophomore Kyle Neuenschwander set the men's 8K program record at Baylands Regional Park led by a third-place finish in a program-best time of 23:54.2, besting Kevin Kirk's mark of 24:05 set in 2021.

Sophomore Ryan Hatch and senior Trent Holiday also posted top 50 finishes with Hatch coming in 26th (24:49.8) and Holliday checking in 45th (25:17.8).

On the women's side, junior Lexi Larsen led the way with a 31st-place finish in the 6K posting the seventh-fastest time in program history in 21:22.7.

Four other Blazers posted top 100 finishes in Adri Bird, Kambrie Wilkinson, Isabela Coffman and Averie Perriton along with five other Trailblazers competing.

NEUENSCHWANDER SETS 6K AT SOUTHERN UTAH COLOR COUNTRY INVITATIONAL
Neuenschwander broke the 6K program record besting Kevin Kirk's program record set in 2021 finishing ninth overall with a time of 18:46.38.

Sophomore Ryan Hatch placed 15th overall clocking a time of 19:03.34 for the second-fastest 6K time followed by nine more Blazers in action.

On the women's side, junior Lexi Larsen placed ninth overall in the 4K clocking a time of 14:28.86 for the third-fastest time in program history.

Averie Perriton, Adri Bird and Kambrie Wilkinson also posted top 30 finishes while nine more Trailblazers competed in the race.

TRAILBLAZERS POST THREE TOP FIVE TIMES AT UC RIVERSIDE INVITATIONAL
On the women's side, junior Lexi Larsen was the Blazers' top finisher clocking the fourth-fastest 6K time in program history to come in 55th and she knocked off more than 35 seconds off her previous best.

Not competing as a full men's team in the invite race, sophomores Kyle Neuenschwander and Ryan Hatch both posted top 75 finishes and clocked the second and third-fastest 8K times in program history, respectively.

Neuenschwander placed 49th posting a time of 24:16.5 while Hatch finished 73rd in a time of 24:31.8.

Seven Trailblazer men competed in the men's 8K open division race with Trent Holiday being the top finisher placing 32nd with a time of 25:29.1.

Three more Trailblazer women raced in the women's 5K open division led by junior Kinley Spaulding.

LOOK BACK AT UVU INVITATIONAL
The Trailblazers opened up the season at the Utah Valley Invitational on Aug. 30 finishing fifth as a team on the men's side and seventh on the women's side.

The men were highlighted by a program record time of 14:34.8 in the 5K by sophomore Neuenschwander, who finished ninth overall.

The women were led by Larsen, who was the the Blazers' top runner finishing 42nd overall at 18:11.4. Larsen was followed by Averie Perriton in 44th, Adri Bird in 45th and freshman Kambrie Wilkinson in 60th.

On the men's side, sophomore newcomer Ryan Hatch was the Trailblazers' second finisher coming in 29th with the second-fastest 5K time in program history (14:59.2).

In total, 12 Trailblazer women and 11 Trailblazer men saw action in the meet with four newcomers on both sides making their Utah Tech debuts.

HEAD COACH JUSTIN DECKER
Justin Decker (Utah Tech, 2008) is in his 14th 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.

2024 ROSTER
The Trailblazer men's squad brings back eight returners while welcoming four newcomers.

With Trent Holiday being the lone senior on the roster, the Trailblazers return seven sophomores. On the newcomers side, they are split between junior college transfers Dennis Speaks (College of Southern Nevada) and Ryan Hatch (Coconino CC) along with freshmen Tyler Mullins (St. George) and Noah Orton (Meridian, Idaho).

On the women's side, Utah Tech brings back 10 returners with four freshmen, Makayla Boulton (Provo, Utah), Isabela Coffman (Klamath Falls, Ore.), Maren Leffler (Preston, Idaho) and Kambrie Wilkinson (Salem, Utah) joining the team this season.

UP NEXT
The Trailblazers head to the NCAA West Regional Championships hosted at the Colfax Golf Club in Colfax, Wash. on Nov. 15.