(St. George, Utah – Feb. 7, 2024) - The Trailblazer indoor track and field team closes out the regular season this weekend traveling to the Mountain State Games hosted by Idaho State at the ICCU Dome on Friday and Saturday.
COMPETING TEAMS
Idaho State, Utah Tech, BYU, Utah Valley, Utah State, Weber State, Salt Lake CC, MSU-Billings, College of Idaho, Northwest Nazarene, Carroll College
BLAZERS SET FOUR PROGRAM RECORDS AT RON MANN CLASSIC
Utah Tech set four new program records in its last outing at the Ron Mann Classic on Feb. 2.
The Trailblazers earned wins from sophomoreÂ
Ashlyn Parish in the 60 meter hurdles with a new program record time of 8.58. FreshmanÂ
Whitney Christiansen won the 400 meters with a blazing time of 56.98 to top her previous top mark of 58.20.
In addition to Parish and Christiansen, juniorÂ
Rashawnna Gibson set a new program record in the 60 meters with a remarkable time of 7.69 seconds and sophomoreÂ
Kaydance Sherwood showcased her excellence in the 200m, matching her program record with a time of 25.70 seconds.
The Blazers also earned a win from sophomoreÂ
Lainee Leavitt in the high jump emerging victorious tying for the second-best mark in program history with a leap of 1.57m (5'-01.75").
BLAZERS SET 21 TOP 10 MARKS AT RON MANN CLASSIC
The Trailblazers continue to rewrite the record book seemingly every week and the Ron Mann Classic kept that trend alive with Utah Tech setting 21 top 10 marks over eight events.
The Blazers set three marks in the 60 meters, four in the 200 meters, five in the 400 meters, two in the 800 meters, two in the mile, two in the 60 meter hurdles, two in the high jump and the 4x400 meter relay team clocked the third-fastest time in program history.
WAC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Blazers close out the indoor season at the WAC Indoor Championships hosted at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Feb. 19-20.
Entering the week, Utah Tech has four top eight marks in the WAC in the 60 meter hurdles (
Ashlyn Parish, 3rd), 800 meters (
Addi Wyatt, 5th), 400 meters (
Whitney Christiansen, 8th) and 4x400 meter relay (Christiansen,
Sadie Edwards,
Megan Jenkins,
Kelly Denninghoff, 8th).
Wyatt finished fifth in the 800 meters at the 2023 WAC Indoor Championships in a program record time while Stephen F. Austin claimed the indoor team crown scoring 99.5 points.
RETURNERS
Utah Tech brings back 22 returners this season with 10 sophomores and 12 juniors. JuniorÂ
Addi Wyatt is back as a mid-distance runner after earning All-WAC honors in the 800 meters in both the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2023.
NEWCOMERS
The Trailblazers welcome 18 newcomers to the team this season with six distance runners, eight sprinters, two sprinters/hurdlers, one hurdler and one jumper/sprinter.
HEAD COACH DERRICK ATKINS
Head coachÂ
Derrick Atkins is in his fourth season as the head coach of the track and field team in 2024.
With his guidance, the Trailblazers have achieved significant success setting 16 school records in outdoor events and 12 in indoor events, with 10 of those records being set in the 2023 season alone.
Not only has the team excelled athletically, but they have also excelled academically. They earned 20 Indoor Academic All-Conference honors and 45 Academic All-Conference honors outdoor.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
- FRIDAY
- Field Events
- 3:00 PM - Pole Vault
- 3:00 PM -Â Shot Put
- 3:00 PM - Long Jump - 1 entry
- Running Events
- 3:00 PM - 60m Hurdles - Prelims - 5 entries
- 3:18 PM - 400 meters - Prelims - 6 entries
- 3:45 PM - 60m - Prelims - 12 entries
- 4:25 PM - 5000 meters - 2 entries
- 5:10 PM - 200 meters - Prelims - 15 entries
- 5:55Â PM - Distance Medley - 2 entries
- SATURDAY
- Field Events
- 10:00 AM - High Jump - 2 entries
- 10:30 AM - Weight Throw
- 11:00 AM - Triple Jump
- Running Events
- 12:15 PM - Mile - 7 entries
- 1:00 PM - 60m Hurdles - Finals
- 1:06 PM - 60 meters - Finals
- 1:15 PM - 400 meters - Finals
- 1:25 PM - 800 meters - 3 entries
- 2:00 PM - 200 meters - Finals
- 2:10 PM - 3000 meters - 3 entries
- 2:50 PM - 4x400 meter relay - 4 entries
