Jane Hedengren finishes first, BYU women place second at NCAA cross-country regional

BYU freshman Jane Hedengren finished first at the NCAA Mountain Regional on Friday in Salt Lake City.

Hedengren completed the 6,000-meter course at the Regional Athletic Complex in 19:06.6, nearly 42 seconds ahead of runner-up Pamela Kosgei, who ran a 19:48.7. Kosgei was the 2024 Mountain Regional champion.

Hedengren’s teammate Riley Chamberlain rounded out the top three with a time of 19:52.8.

The No. 1 nationally-ranked BYU finished second on Friday, two points behind New Mexico.

BYU head coach Diljeet Taylor told reporters afterwards that she “got some good data today” to help her decide which seven women she places on the starting line at nationals next week.

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BYU had six runners finish in the top 20: Hedengren (first), Chamberlain (third), Taylor Rohatinsky (ninth), Carmen Alder (16th), Lexi Goff (18th) and Zariel Macchia (19th).

With nationals eight days away, the plan was for Hedengren to have a “calm” 2K and then she could start working, according to Taylor.

Hedengren led Kosgei by just five-tenths of a second. That lead increased to 12.7 seconds, 23.8 seconds and 38 seconds on the following splits.

“It probably felt harder and not as rhythmic as maybe some of her races because just the pacing was a little bit different. It was kind of windy out there, and we’re at altitudes so things are going to feel a little bit harder. But I was pleased with just a good, hard effort eight days out,” Taylor said.

Friday was just Hedengren’s third collegiate race. In her collegiate debut at the Pre-National Invitational, Hedengren set a course record at Gans Creek, the site of this year’s nationals.

Then in her next race, Hedengren led BYU to its third-consecutive Big 12 championship and broke the Big 12 6,000-meter record.

“She is one of one. I talk about her being, instead of a generational talent, a Jane-rational talent, and that’s true. She’s proving that week in, week out,” Taylor said.

Among the other Utah women’s programs, the University of Utah finished fifth, Utah State finished seventh, Utah Valley finished ninth, Weber State finished 13th and Southern Utah finished in 17th in the team standings.

On the men’s side, BYU finished second in team standings behind New Mexico.

BYU’s Tayvon Kitchen (30:09.6) and Davin Thompson (30:09.7) were BYU’s top finishers, finishing a tenth of a second apart in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Among the other Utah schools, Utah State, Weber State and Utah Valley were sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, and Southern Utah finished 14th.

As top two finishers, both the BYU men and women automatically qualified for the national championship in Missouri on Nov. 22.