BYU freshman Jane Hedengren earned recognition nationally and from the Big 12 following her first collegiate cross country race.
On Friday, Hedengren made her debut for BYU at the Pre-National Invitational at Missouri’s Gans Creek. Not only did Hedengren — and BYU — win, but the freshman broke the course record by almost 25 seconds, running the 6,000 meters in 18:42.30.
She finished 23.5 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Silvia Jelego (19:05.8) and 26.3 seconds ahead of teammate Riley Chamberlain (19:08.6), who placed third.
On Monday, the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named Hedengren the co-Division I Women Athletic National Athlete of the Week alongside NC State’s Grace Hartman.
The association wrote the following about Hedengren:
“Prized recruit Jane Hedengren sent a message to the rest of the nation at the Missouri Pre-National Invitational. That message? The hype is real.
“Making her collegiate debut, the freshman from Provo, Utah, shattered the course record with her 18:42.3 victory — more than 20 seconds faster than the previous mark — and led No. 1 BYU to a 145-point win over No. 19 Villanova.
“Hedengren didn’t shy away from the spotlight this past weekend, immediately tucking herself into the lead pack. By 3k, that pack had thinned to just Hedengren and Clemson’s Silvia Jelego. Over the next kilometer, Hedengren surged and opened a seven-second gap en route to a 23.5-second romp.”
She is the third BYU female runner to earn the honor behind Whittni Orton Morgan (2021) and Kate Hunter (2018), according to the association.
The Big 12 added to Hedengren’s accolades this week when it named her the female Big 12 Runner of the Week on Tuesday. Texas Tech’s Titus Kimaru earned the honor on the men’s side.
On Wednesday, FloTrack ranked Hedengren third in its national cross country rankings behind No. 1 Doris Lemngole and No. 2 Hartman.
Up next, the No. 1 ranked BYU women will compete in the Big 12 championship on Oct. 31 in Lawrence, Kansas.