(St. George - Feb. 26, 2026) – Utah Tech women's track & field heads to the Pacific Northwest for the 2026 WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend beginning Friday, Feb. 27 and concluding Saturday, Feb. 28.

UT will get started with the pentathlon at 9 a.m. PST/10 a.m. MST on Friday and wrap up the championship meet with the 4 x 400 relay at approximately 5:55 p.m. PST/6:55 p.m. MST on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Trailblazers broke 5 school records and racked up 17 top-ten finishes at the Mountain State Games in Pocatello, Idaho. On day 1 of the Mountain State Games, the Trailblazers competed in the pentathlon for the first time in school history, highlighted by senior Megan Jenkins tallying 3,236 points, which was good for 5th best in the meet. In the 5000 meter, junior Averie Perriton set a women's indoor record by recording a 17:27.63 time, good for 2nd best at the Mountain State Games. At the women's distance medley relay Hailee Phillips, Scarlett Brock, Whitney Christiansen, Makayla Pitcher teamed up to record another school record. The relay squad recorded a time of 12:03.98 which was good enough for a podium finish in 2nd place. 

On day 2 of the Mountain State Games, UT had a 1st place finish coming in the women's 4x400 relay as Megan Jenkins, Hannah Bingham, Scarlett Brock, and Whitney Christiansen recorded a time of 3:53.86. The Trailblazers also earned a 3rd place finish when freshman Hannah Bingham recorded a 56.50 in the 400 meter race.

LAST YEAR'S WAC INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
On day 1, Utah Tech qualified four Trailblazers for finals and set four program records. UT's first points of the championships came in the distance medley relay, where returners Makayla Pitcher, Lily Sampson, Averie Perriton, and Whitney Christiansen finished fifth with a time of 12:07.02 to score four points for Utah Tech. In the 400 meters, now senior Megan Jenkins and Christiansen qualified for the final. 

On day 2,Utah Tech track & field tallied three program records and nine all-conference selections and recorded a seventh-place finish with 19 points as a team, both of which are Division I-era bests. Tied for seventh with Southern Utah entering the last event of the championships, the Trailblazers put up a program best 3:49.57 in the 4x400-meter relay to take fifth place and earn four points. With the fifth-place finish in the distance medley relay, Utah Tech totaled 13 second-team All-WAC honorees at the indoor championships.


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 will return home to open up its outdoor track & field season with the Utah Tech Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 21.