(Arlington, TX - May 12, 2026) – Utah Tech women's track & field heads to Texas to wrap up their 2026 season at the 2026 WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 14-16.

The Trailblazers will get started Thursday, May 14 at 9 a.m. CT / 8 a.m. MT with the heptathlon and wrap up the championships on Saturday, May 16 at approximately 7:20 p.m. CT / 6:20 p.m. MT on the track with the 4x400 meter relay. 

LAST TIME OUT
Utah Tech racked up 21 top-5 finishes, 16 top-3 finishes, won 7 events, and broke a school record between the 2026 Robison Invitational and the SUU Coliseum Championships. 

The Trailblazers had their strongest showing of the 2026 Robison Invitational at the 10,000 meter run as Adri Bird won the event with a time of 38:13.66. Junior Charly Murie came in 2nd behind Bird with a recorded time of 38:46.93. 

Junior Reyes Hernandez competed in the heptathlon for Utah Tech where she came in 6th with 4,126 total points. Hernandez broke the program record for the heptathlon with her scoring.

Lily Sampson had a strong showing at the SUU Coliseum Championships with two first place finishes in the 100m and 200m races. 

UT also took their other two podium finishes at the 200m as Kelly Denninghoff and Hannah Bingham finished in 2nd and 3rd behind Sampson.

Bingham continued her momentum from the 200m dash and rolled into another 1st place finish for the Trailblazers, this time at the 400m race. Bingham recorded a time of 55.87.

Megan Jenkins once again had a strong showing in the hurdles events, winning both the 100m and 400m. Jenkins recorded a 13.76 at the 100m, and a 59.39 at the 400m.

UT racked up two more 1st place finishes in both of the relay events on Thursday. In the 4x100 relay, Fowler, Bingham, Sampson, and Dennison teamed up for a school record time of 46.12. At the 4x400 relay, Bingham, Jenkins, Meeds, and Denninghoff recorded a winning time of 3:50.60.

In the field events, junior Mackenzie Bradach shined as she jumped into back-to-back top 3 finishes at the long jump and the triple jump. Bradach recorded a 10.72m jump in the triple jump, good for 2nd place, and 5.18m in the long jump, good for 3rd place. 

LAST YEAR'S WAC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Utah Tech track & field garnered eight Second Team All-WAC honors at the 2025 Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. 

Whitney Christiansen scored two points with a seventh-place finish in the 400 meters at 56.53.

The Trailblazers totaled five points in the 400-meter hurdles with two top-eight finishes. Ilenia DeHart took sixth at 1:02.59 and Megan Jenkins followed in seventh at 1:02.65.

Returners who received honors last year: 
Whitney Christiansen (400 Meters), Ilenia DeHart (400-Meter Hurdles), Megan Jenkins (400-Meter Hurdles), Averie Perriton (3,000-Meter Steeplechase)

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 await qualifications for the NCAA West First Rounds in Fayetteville, Arkansas.