(Azusa, CA - April 15, 2026) – Utah Tech women's track & field travels to southern California for a split meet weekend at Azusa Pacific and La Verne, beginning Thursday, Apr 16.

The Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California is hosted by Azusa Pacific University at Cougar Stadium and will be a three day event beginning on Thursday, Apr 16. 

The ULV Leopard Invitational in La Verne, California is hosted by the University of La Verne at Ortmayer Stadium and will be a two day event beginning on Friday, Apr 17.

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech track & field racked up 32 top-8 finishes, 16 top-3 finishes, set a program record, and finished in first in team points at the UNLV Rebel ELITE at Myron Partridge Stadium April 3-4. Charly Murie highlighted day one of the meet for UT with a recorded time of 18:39.20 in the 5000 meter run, which was good enough for a 2nd place finish. The Trailblazers had a big team scoring event in the women's 1500 run where Utah Tech filled up the leaderboard by placing 2nd through 6th as well as 8th. The event highlight for UT was Averie Perriton leading the slew of Trailblazers, placing 2nd with a time of 4:41.93. Utah Tech wrapped up the day by sweeping the podium at the women's 3000 meter run, highlighted again by Averie Perriton. Perriton continued her strong showing this weekend with a time of 10:26.59, good enough for 3rd best in school history.


LAST YEAR'S BRYAN CLAY INVITATIONAL
Now a senior, Lainee Leavitt, placed seventh with a mark of 1.58 meters (5-2.25) in the high jump. 

LAST YEAR'S ULV LEOPARD INVITATIONAL
Averie Perriton took fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:03.82. At the time of the event, the mark was a program record. Now a junior, Charly Murie, finished eighth at the 10,000 meters with a time of 37:49.71. Finally at the 800 meter race, a now senior, Savannah Rydalch finished third at 2:17.37.


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?
The Trailblazers will head up the I-15 to Cedar City for the SUU Coliseum Championships on April 30 for their final outdoor meet before the WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.