Utah Tech Cross Country Opened With Two Top-Three Finishes in Flagstaff

Utah Tech cross country opened its 2026 season with both teams in the top three at Northern Arizona's George Kyte Classic on September 2 in Flagstaff. The Trailblazer men finished second with 68 points, and the women finished third with 78, behind host Northern Arizona and Grand Canyon in a five-team field.

Ryan Hatch led the men with a 10th-place finish in the 4.5-mile race, clocking 23:02.2. Averie Perriton paced the women in 13th in the 2.5-mile race at 15:26.5. Northern Arizona won both races with 15 points — the lowest total a team can score, which means the host swept the first five scoring places in each race.

Utah Tech's men put five runners in the top 21

The men's result was built on a compact pack after Hatch. Junior Brady Eager finished 16th in 23:26.0, sophomore Brett Bailey was 18th in 23:27.4, freshman Benjamin Fernandez placed 20th in 23:35.1, and junior Carter Day followed in 21st at 23:35.7.

That sequence gave Utah Tech five finishers inside the first 21 places, and 33.5 seconds separated Hatch's 23:02.2 from Day's 23:35.7 across the whole scoring five. The Trailblazers' official recap lists Northern Arizona first with 15 points, Utah Tech second with 68, Embry-Riddle third with 74, Grand Canyon fourth with 92, and Coconino Community College fifth with 149.

Hatch's top-10 finish came in his hometown of Flagstaff. The result gave Utah Tech a clear opening reference point on a course and in a field that included Northern Arizona, a new Big Sky Conference opponent. Utah Tech's July schedule release identified the George Kyte Classic as the program's first meet before a September trip to UC Riverside.

The Trailblazers also received scoring depth farther down the list. Aiden Hardy took 23rd in 23:38.3, Dennis Speaks was 37th in 24:10.0, and Payton Wilkins placed 39th in 24:13.9. Those finishes sat outside the scoring five, which is the group that produced the 68-point total and put Utah Tech ahead of Embry-Riddle, Grand Canyon and Coconino CC.

Averie Perriton led a deep women's group

Perriton's 15:26.5 was Utah Tech's first women's time across the 2.5-mile course. Fifth-year runner Makayla Pitcher followed in 19th at 15:55.4, then freshman Ashlynn Lainhart took 21st in 15:57.5 and senior Adri Bird was 22nd in 15:58.2.

Junior Makayla Boulton completed the next step of the Trailblazers' pack in 23rd at 16:09.2. Freshmen Maya Parker and Talia Anderson finished 24th and 25th in 16:10.8 and 16:11.9, respectively. Utah Tech placed six runners from 19th through 25th, a 42.7-second spread from Perriton's 15:26.5 to Boulton's 16:09.2, and finished within four points of Grand Canyon.

Northern Arizona won the women's race with 15 points. Grand Canyon totaled 74, Utah Tech 78, Embry-Riddle 84, and Coconino CC 155. Four points was the entire margin between second and third, the closest gap anywhere in either team result.

Utah Tech Athletics said its women's roster returned its top six finishers from both the prior WAC Championships and NCAA West Regional. The September 2 recap offers the first current-season result for that group, with Perriton as the opening leader and six teammates inside the top 25.

The Flagstaff meet was the first step in a new Big Sky calendar

Utah Tech's 2026 schedule includes four regular-season meets before postseason racing begins. After Flagstaff, the Trailblazers are scheduled to compete at the UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside, California, on September 19. They then travel to Cedar City for Southern Utah's Color Country Invitational on October 3 and to Terre Haute, Indiana, for the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational on October 16.

The postseason calendar begins with the Big Sky Championships on October 30 at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, the same site used for the George Kyte Classic. The NCAA West Regional is scheduled for November 13 in Sacramento, California, and the NCAA Championships are listed for November 21 in Terre Haute.

That return to Flagstaff is the date to circle. The George Kyte field held five teams over early-season distances, while the Big Sky Championships will put Utah Tech against Northern Arizona and the rest of the conference on the same Buffalo Park course. Utah Tech leaves the opener with a men's runner in the top 10, a women's runner in the top 15, and a measured starting line on the course that will decide its conference season.

Key facts: Utah Tech at the NAU George Kyte Classic

• Date and site: September 2, 2026, at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, Arizona
• Men: Utah Tech finished second of five teams with 68 points; Ryan Hatch was 10th in the 4.5-mile race in 23:02.2
• Men's pack: Brady Eager (16th), Brett Bailey (18th), Benjamin Fernandez (20th), and Carter Day (21st) joined Hatch in the top 21
• Women: Utah Tech finished third of five teams with 78 points; Averie Perriton was 13th in the 2.5-mile race in 15:26.5
• Women's pack: Makayla Pitcher was 19th, Ashlynn Lainhart 21st, Adri Bird 22nd, Makayla Boulton 23rd, Maya Parker 24th, and Talia Anderson 25th
• Next verified meet: UC Riverside Invitational in Riverside, California, on September 19
• Postseason date: Big Sky Championships, October 30 at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff