(St. George - Jan. 28, 2026) – Utah Tech women's track & field is set for the Northern Arizona-hosted Ron Mann Classic on Friday, Jan. 30, at the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona.

UT will get started with the long jump at 2 p.m., and wrap up with the 4x400-meter relay at approximately 8:03 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Trailblazers set a program record and tallied 19 top-eight finishes at the Weber State Indoor Invitational on Jan. 9-10, at the Stromberg Center Indoor Track in Ogden, Utah. Junior Mille Roesaeg set the all-time UT record in the long jump with a mark of 5.40 meters (17-8.5) to finish sixth in her first meet as a Trailblazer. Fellow junior Averie Perriton took seventh in the 3,000 meters at 10:25.74, ranking third all-time in program history. In the mile, junior Makayla Pitcher ran a 5:13.00 flat, placing ninth with a time that ranks seventh all-time in program history. 

LAST YEAR'S RON MANN CLASSIC
UT set two program records and totaled nine top-eight finishes at the 2025 edition of the Ron Mann Classic. Returning Trailblazers with top-eight finishes include: seniors Savannah Rydalch (800 meters), Kelly Denninghoff (4x400-meter relay), Megan Jenkins (4x400-meter relay) and Lainee Leavitt (high jump), juniors Whitney Christiansen (800 meters/4x400-meter relay) and Averie Perriton (mile), and sophomores Lily Sampson (4x400-meter relay) and Ilenia DeHart (4x400-meter relay).

AT THE HELM
Justin Decker is beginning his first season as the Director of Track & Field and his 10th year on the women's track & field staff. Decker is also the head coach of the women's cross country team, whom he has guided for the past 15 seasons.

During his tenure at UT, Decker has mentored 25 all-conference, seven all-region, and two All-American student-athletes (Rachel Young in 2012 and Billie Hatch in 2019).

RUN IT BACK
Utah Tech returns 19 Trailblazers from last year's roster, including seven distance runners, three mid-distance runners, eight sprinters, four hurdlers and two jumps specialists. 

In 2025, Utah Tech totaled 13 Second Team All-WAC selections during the indoor season. Junior Whitney Christiansen (400 meters, DMR, 4x400-meter relay), senior Megan Jenkins (400 meters, 4x400-meter relay), junior Averie Perriton (DMR), junior Makayla Pitcher (DMR) and sophomore Lily Sampson (DMR, 4x400-meter relay) all return. 

During the 2025 outdoor season, the Trailblazers earned eight all-conference honors. Among UT's returners, Christiansen (400 meters), Jenkins (400-meter hurdles) and Perriton (3,000-meter steeplechase) garnered Second Team All-WAC honors. Sophomore Ilenia DeHart (400-meter hurdles) was also named Second Team All-WAC.

NEW FACES
Utah Tech welcomes eight newcomers, including six freshmen and transfers Mille Roesaeg and Trey Torgerson.

Roesaeg competes in multis and hails from Fredrikstad, Norway. Torgerson is a sprinter from Salina, Utah, and comes to St. George after playing volleyball at Eastern Arizona in the fall.

The Trailblazer freshmen include three sprinters and three distance runners.

Utah Tech also added three assistant coaches to the track & field program for this season. Holly Haguewood is the sprints/hurdles coach, Shanae Leavitt is the multis coach and Josiah Williams is the jumps coach. 

BIG SKY ON THE HORIZON
Utah Tech is in its last year of competition as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Trailblazers will join the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 2026. Along with the women's program, UT is in the process of adding men's track & field, which will also compete in the Big Sky, ahead of the 2026-27 academic year.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Utah Tech wraps up its indoor regular season at the Idaho State-hosted Mountain State Games on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14, inside the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, Idaho.