Another week for Utah Tech University athletics allowed athletes from the men’s cross country and women’s volleyball to rewrite program records.
Women’s volleyball
For the first time in the program’s history, the Utah Tech volleyball team beat Utah Valley as they swept them 3-0. After winning the first two sets, Utah Tech trailed 21-20 in the third set before scoring five straight points to win the final set 25-20.
Junior Kennedi Knudsen led the Trailblazers in kills for the 11th time this season as she finished with 12 kills. Utah Tech picked up its third straight win to start Western Athletic Conference play. They then suffered a 1-3 loss to Southern Utah University Oct. 5, making them 3-1 in WAC play and 9-5 overall.
Women’s soccer
The week started off Oct. 3 as the women’s soccer team lost a close match to Utah Valley University 3-4. Utah Tech fell behind 3-0 but started to make a comeback effort, beginning with freshman Lataya Brost scoring to get the Trailblazers on the board in the 77th minute.
The Wolverines responded with another goal, less than five minutes later, before junior Lacy Fox scored in the 83rd minute and Brost scored again as the Trailblazers’ comeback ultimately fell short.
Men’s soccer
The men’s soccer team suffered a close loss to California Baptist University in their conference opener, losing 1-2 at Greater Zion Stadium. Utah Tech controlled much of the first half and closed out the first half as junior Oliver Stone scored in the 41st minute.
California Baptist flipped the script in the second half, scoring in the 49th and 60th minute. The Trailblazers fell to 1-6-2 as they prepare to host San Diego State University Oct. 13.
Women’s swim
The women’s swimming team started their season off strong, finishing second in the Pepperdine University Rodionoff Invitational. The Trailblazers won five of the first eight events on day one of the meet.
Football
Utah Tech’s football team fell to 0-6 as they lost 14-60 on the road at North Alabama University in their second conference game.
Cross country
The men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled Oct. 4 to the Cedar Ridge Golf Course in Cedar City to compete in the Southern Utah Color Country Invitational. Both teams took third place finishes.
Junior Lexi Larsen led the women’s team, placing 9th overall in the 4K and finished with the third fastest time in program history, with a time of 14:28.86. Averie Perriton, Adri Bird and Kambrie Wilkinson also finished in the top 30.
“Team dynamic has been great, with healthy competition and a supportive coaching staff,“ Perriton, a sophomore computer science major from Cheyenne, Wyoming, said. ”The team and coaches push me to be competitive and perform at the best of my ability. The girls will pick each other up when someone is struggling in a workout, and there’s lots of positive words of encouragement all around.”
Sophomore Kyle Neuenschwander led the men as he set the program record for a 6K with a time of 18:46.38, finishing ninth. Sophomore Ryan Hatch also finished 15th overall.
“The biggest challenge today was definitely the long and grueling hills that take up much of the course,” Hatch, a sophomore biology major from Flagstaff, Arizona, said. “Additionally, we went up a few thousand feet in elevation, which made the race feel much more challenging.”
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