(Las Vegas, NV - April 1, 2026) – Utah Tech women's track & field will travel to Las Vegas on Friday, Apr. 3 to compete in the UNLV Rebel ELITE, hosted by UNLV.
This is a two day meet and the Trailblazers will get started on Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. PST / 10:30 a.m. MT with the hammer throw, and wrap up the day with the 5000m run at approximately 6:35 p.m. PST / 7:35 p.m. MT. On Saturday, UT will start the day with the 4x100m relay at 11:00 a.m. PST / 12:00 pm MT, and will conclude the meet at the 4x400m relay at approximately 4:40 p.m. PST / 5:40 p.m. PST.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech track & field racked up 22 top-8 finishes, five top-3 finishes, and set two program records at the Utah Tech Invitational on Saturday, Mar. 21 at Greater Zion Stadium. Junior
Makayla Pitcher got UT started when she recorded a 2nd place finish at the 5000m run with a time of 17:42.68. Pitcher's 2nd place time was good enough for 6th best in outdoor program history. Senior
Lainee Leavitt highlighted the field portion of the meet by tying for 2nd place in the high jump. Leavitt cleared 1.66 meters, which is a personal best and 2nd best in program history. The highlight of the meet for the Trailblazers came in the 800 meter race where
Whitney Christiansen won the event with a time of 2:14.43. The Trailblazers also set a pair of school records as
Averie Perriton recorded a time of 11:01.41 in the women's 3000 meter steeplechase, and the men's team recorded a school record as Grayson Peterson set the UT record in the men's 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:37.76.
LAST YEAR'S UNLV REBEL ELITE
Utah Tech notched a program record in the 800 meters by
Whitney Christiansen and added 10 top eight finishes at the UNLV Elite Meet at Myron Patridge Stadium.
Averie Perriton finished in the top eight in a pair of races coming in eighth in the 1500 meters (4:47.99) and sixth in the 5000 meters (18:40.54). Now sophomore,
Kambrie Wilkinson, was the runner-up in the 5000 meters clocking a time of 18:15.03.
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 head to southern California April 16-18 as they will have a busy weekend with the Bryan Clay Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific and the ULV Leopard Invitational hosted by LaVerne.
