Men's Cross Country | 1/3/2025 10:30:00 AM

(St. George, Utah - Jan. 3, 2025) - Utah Tech cross country head coach Justin Decker announced the addition of assistant coach Olivia Hoj-Simister to the cross country coaching staff on Friday.

Hoj-Simister is a native of Holladay, Utah, where she excelled in track and cross country at Olympus High School, winning the 4A state championship in the 3200 meters and was runner-up in both the 1600 meters and the cross country state championships.

She attended BYU from 2016-2021 where she served as the SAAC president and captain of the cross country and track & field teams. 

She helped BYU to a national runner-up place finish at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country National Championship and was named an All-American after placing seventh individually in the 3000 meters and running on BYU's Distance Medley Relay team that won the National title at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Hoj-Simister was the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee for the West Coast Conference and recipient of the prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship award and WCC Post Graduate Scholarship award. 

She graduated from BYU with a 3.94 GPA, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Public Health and a Master's Degree in Public Administration.

Hoj-Simister is married to former Utah Tech basketball standout Brandon Simister, who played for the Trailblazers from 2012-18 and ranks top 10 in program history in career three pointers made (166), three pointers attempted (389), points (1,145), games played (110), three point field percentage (.426), free throws made (337), free throw attempts (387) and free throw percentage (.871).