Timpview running sensation Jane Hedengren was named the Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year on Tuesday morning.
The senior BYU commit was surprised before school as Olympian and former BYU runner Courtney Wayment presented her with the trophy.
“The Gatorade Player of the Year award is given to athletes who are the best of the best in their sport across the country,” said Gatorade Chief Brand Officer Anuj Bhasin in a press release statement. “With nearly 300,000 student-athletes competing in girls cross country nationwide, Jane was given the top award in high school sports because she is someone who excels in all facets of her life.”
Last school year, Hedengren was named the 2023-24 Deseret News female athlete of the year as she dominated in cross country and track.
She continued that trend in cross country this past fall.
On the day before Halloween, she won the 5A state cross country title at Sugar House Park with a time of 16:21.48, which was a full-minute faster than her runner-up teammate.
The dominance continued at national meets. At the Nike Cross Southwest regional on Nov. 23 in Mesa, Ariz., Hedengren ran a 15:50.01, winning the race by 41 seconds.
Two weeks later at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Hedengren obliterated one of the strongest fields in the country winning with a time of 16:32.7. She also won that race by 41 seconds.
Hedengren’s time on the Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland broke the old course record by five seconds. The previous record was set in 2018 by Katelyn Tuohy out of North Rockland, N.Y. She then went on to star at North Carolina State winning a combined five NCAA titles in track and cross country.
With Hedengren’s dominance locally and nationally, she’s on a similar trajectory and will be taking her talents next fall to BYU, which won the women’s NCAA title this season.