(St. George - March 22, 2025) - Utah Tech track & field totaled three program records and 20 top eight finishes on the final day of the Utah Tech Invitational at Greater Zion Stadium on Saturday.
"We started out strong and we finished strong with a few school records in between," head coach
Derrick Atkins said. "We've got to build from here and keep going. The ladies really showed up and they competed today. For me as a coach, I'm pretty proud of today's performance, but more so the progression of our program over the last five seasons. I've been here for four years, started it back in 2020 and first installed all the women's track & field program and the growth that we have had exponentially from then to now has been tremendous."
The Trailblazers started Saturday's action on the track with a program record in the 4x100-meter relay. Senior
Rashawnna Gibson, sophomore
Whitney Christiansen, junior
Brittany Kuhn and freshman
Adaorah Okafor teamed up to post a 46.29 in third place.
In the triple jump, sophomore
Mackenzie Bradach logged a personal best to take second with a mark of 10.51 meters (34-5.75).
Senior
Lexi Larsen took second in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:32.24 to break her program record from last season by over three seconds.
Four Trailblazers posted top-eight finishes in the 100-meter hurdles. Junior Ashyln Parish took third at 13.92, Kuhn placed fourth at 13.94, junior
Megan Jenkins finished sixth at 14.23 and senior
Emma Lloyd came in eighth at 14.83.
Junior
Savannah Eatough placed seventh in the 800 meters with a time of 2:19.34. Senior
Sadie Edwards came in next to take eighth at 2:19.98.
In the 100 meters, four Trailblazers finished in the top eight. Gibson set a meet record to win the event with a time of 11.78. Okafor placed fourth at 12.11, sophomore
Jesse Fowler took sixth at 12.29 and senior
Ashlynn Gilhula came in seventh at 12.42.
Christiansen set a program record while winning the 400 meters with a time of 54.79. Christiansen shaved nearly two seconds off the previous record that she set last season. Also in the 400 meters, Jenkins placed third at 55.71 and freshman
Ilenia DeHart finished fifth at 57.92.
In the 3,000 meters, freshman
Kambrie Wilkinson took fifth with a time of 10:41.62 and sophomore
Charly Murie came in seventh at 10:47.86.
Utah Tech men's cross country sophomore Ryan Hatch set a program record in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:35.56 to take fourth.
The Trailblazers wrapped their home meet by taking third in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:50.72. Jenkins, Christiansen, Kuhn and freshman
Lily Sampson ran the relay.
Before day two got underway, Utah Tech honored its nine seniors at their final home meet. UT's 2025 seniors include
Kylie Bishop, Edwards, Gibson, Gilhula, Larsen, Lloyd, Kuhn,
Kinley Spaulding and
Addi Wyatt. These seniors have combined for 12 Utah Tech records, 15 all-WAC selections and 24 academic all-WAC nods during their time in St. George.
"It's about the ladies — About the freshman, the senior class right now that set the foundation for where we are right now and where we will be in the future," Atkins said. "My hat's off to those ladies that contributed a lot to the program, who were here from the start. When I got here, there were people here, but for me recruiting-wise, they have been the foundation of the program going forward."
Top Eight Finishes
- Triple Jump
- 4x100-Meter Relay
- 1,500 Meters
- 100-Meter Hurdles
- 800 Meters
- 100 Meters
- 400 Meters
- 3,000 Meters
- Men's 3,000 Meters
- 4. Ryan Hatch, 8:35.56 - PROGRAM RECORD
- 4x400-Meter Relay
Up Next
After a weekend off, the Trailblazers will head down Interstate 15 for the UNLV Rebel ELITE on Friday and Saturday, April 4-5, at Myron Partridge Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
