Staying on track

Anyone who has competed in, coached at or worked for Southern Utah University athletics understands that a team becomes a family. Many former athletes have returned to extend their legacy at SUU for this reason, and Shaye and Brent Springall are no exception.

While they competed for Southern Utah’s track and field team, the two started dating in 2011 and married in 2012. The Springalls began their legacy as student-athletes in that program, and since then, both have continued to leave their impact on the athletic department.

Choosing the Thunderbirds

When he had to choose where to continue his track career, Brent decided on SUU because it was close to his home of Las Vegas. He also loved the underdog mentality of Southern Utah track and field. SUU might be a program that few project to win, but they always have a shot because of the culture set in place by the athletes and coaches before them.

Shaye grew up in Cedar City frequently attending Thunderbird basketball games. She originally wanted to become a basketball player for Southern Utah until track became her passion. At the time, SUU did not recruit many short distance runners, but even with other offers, she still wanted to continue her athletic career at SUU. In her junior year of high school, Shaye received an offer from Southern Utah and accepted it right away.

Both Shaye and Brent were fans of the hard-working culture and were prepared to add to the track and field program’s legacy.

Brent’s impact on SUU

Brent joined Southern Utah’s track and field team in 2007 and competed until 2011. During that span, he earned multiple accolades, set records and made history as a multi-event athlete. The most notable is his 6,450 points scored during an outdoor decathlon event in 2011. At the time, the score placed him third all-time in program history. He earned eighth place in the record books for both pole vault and the indoor heptathlon with a score of 14’ 7 ¼” and 4,614 points, respectively.

“I’m glad to be a part of the track program’s history,” Brent said. “It does have a lot of really cool stories and history; I’m glad to be a part of that.”

One of those stories was when the track team won the conference championship at home in 2009. The event came down to Southern Utah’s great four-by-four victory that edged out North Dakota State University. This was Brent’s favorite team story, but he also had a great one about him and Shaye while the two competed together.

“I was pretty tired after a long decathlon, and the coach was trying to get me ready for the 1,500-meter,” Brent said. “He told me Shaye would give me a kiss on the cheek if I beat my personal record. We weren’t dating at the time, but I really liked her, so I got up and set a good personal record.”

He did end up getting his kiss, and Shaye pointed out that he broke his record by about 30 seconds. In addition to setting records as a student-athlete, Brent set up future track and field athletes for success as a coach after he graduated from SUU with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and a master’s in sports conditioning. He was also able to coach Shaye for her senior year.

After starting his coaching career at Southern Utah in 2012, Brent coached two NCAA national qualifiers, eight NCAA West Regional qualifiers and 14 All-Conference athletes. Brent also coached 22 school record holders, including two Big Sky alltime record holders, three Big Sky championship record holders and two Big Sky Most Valuable Players.

One of the best athletes to attend SUU was track star Tre James. Under Brent’s coaching, James earned Big Sky championships for indoor and outdoor events. James also broke the school records in both the 60-meter and 200-meter.

“I always tried to instill a culture of working hard and showing up on game day when it counts,” Brent said. “I told the kids stories about the athletes that came before them, and it kind of just grew for a while. The record books just got rewritten year after year for about eight years.”

Eventually, Brent and his brothers started a family-run business called Closet Factory in 2020, a custom closet and cabinetry business and the reason he stepped away from SUU track and field as a coach.

Shaye’s legacy

Although Brent has moved on from his coaching position at Southern Utah, Shaye has remained a part of the athletics family after her graduation in 2013 with a degree in accounting. As a student, she set multiple records for track and field and still holds five spots in the record book for indoor track events. In 2014, she earned first in the 60-meter sprint and 60-meter hurdles with times of 7.46 and 8.21, respectively. Those are not her only first-place records for indoor track, as she also sits at No. 1 for the pentathlon multi-event with a score of 3,929.

Overall, Shaye earned six spots in the record book for outdoor track and field events. She is first all-time for both the heptathlon record with an incredible score of 5,454 and 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.56. She was a big part of the Thunderbird track and field team’s group competitions, which is made up of multi-events and hurdles. Shaye competed in several Big Sky and Summit League championships to earn All-Conference status.

“I think I still have seven records,” Shay said. “It was a hometown loyalty thing for me. It’s super cool because I love Cedar and I love SUU, so it is fun.”

Before stepping into her role as the director of operations, Shaye would help drive athletes to meet and compete independently herself. Since Brent was coaching at the time, she didn’t mind helping out. Shaye was attempting to make it to the professional level after graduating and having back surgery.

Once the position for director of operations presented itself, she took the opportunity and was hired. Shaye has played a crucial role for the Thunderbirds’ track and field team during her time at Southern Utah. She has been the key to arranging meets and has been able to get athletes to prestigious races across the country.

“I really care about the program, and I really care about the athletes,” Shaye said. “A lot of the trips are the same, and I always want to make it the best I can because I knew what it was like.”

How they continue to build Southern Utah’s legacy

Sports bring people like Shaye and Brent together, but most importantly, they have created a family atmosphere for the entire Cedar City community. Records are not what make Southern Utah University’s last 125 years great, it is the alumni like them who have returned and continued to help make an impact on the school. SUU has a legacy of great athletes; the Springhalls have gone beyond their individual record-breaking performances on the track to further their impact.

Brent and Shaye have also begun their own family legacy. They have two daughters, Roxana and Phoebe. Shaye’s brother, Trenton Maurer, has followed in her footsteps, too, joining the Thunderbird track and field family and competing in multiple events.

-Written by Chevy Blackburn