BYU freshman Jane Hedengren won the first NCAA title of her career Friday, claiming the victory in the women’s 5,000-meters at the NCAA Indoor Championship in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Hedengren set a facility record by 14 seconds with a time of 15:00.12. Alabama’s Doris Lemngole finished second (15:03.42), and New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei finished third (15:07.76).
After lapping her sixth competitor, Hedengren knew the title was hers and smiled with the finish line in sight.
She was emotional as she walked over to hug coach Diljeet Taylor and then her mom before she made her way across the track for her postrace interview with ESPN.
“I think there’s just so much work that goes into these events and into every day, right? It’s a culmination of tons of work and dedication, and so every race is a great opportunity to show that and have some fun,” Hedengren told ESPN.
Going into the race, Hedengren said she didn’t have “a super cemented race plan.”
“I wanted to go off that instinct today and just be grateful to compete against a really great field and bring that joy factor, right? That’s why we do it,” she said.
Hedengren is the NCAA record holder in the 5,000 meters (14:44.79). She set the record in her first collegiate race in December — shattering Lemngole’s previous record by eight seconds — just two weeks after finishing runner-up to Lemngole in the NCAA cross-country national championship.
On Friday, Hedengren said it “was just really special” to show off the closing she’s been working on and her ability “to compete in the later stages of the race.”
Hedengren’s not done in Fayetteville, as she will compete in the 3,000-meter final Saturday at 5:10 p.m. MT.
Elsewhere for BYU Friday, senior Riley Chamberlain finished fourth overall and fourth in the second heat of the women’s mile preliminary with a time of 4:28.96 to qualify for Saturday’s final, which begins at 3:10 p.m. MT.
She finished behind Washington State sophomore Rosemary Longisa (4:28.09) and Oregon seniors Wilma Nielsen (4:28.26) and Silan Ayyildiz (4:28.44).
Chamberlain currently holds the NCAA indoor mile record (4:20.61), which she set last month at the Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
On the men’s side, BYU’s Carter Cutting also advanced to the mile final after finishing first in the second heat and sixth overall (3:56.70).
As he neared the finish line, Cutting shared a fist bump agreement with runner-up Trent McFarland, having created a comfortable enough lead from the rest of the pack to punch their ticket to the final.
Cutting will run in Saturday’s final at 3:20 p.m. MT.
How other BYU and Utah athletes performed
Here is a recap of how the other BYU and Utah athletes performed on the first day of competition at the indoor championships.
BYU
- Junior Zoey Bonds finished 10th in the pentathlon with 4100 points. Her best finish came in the 60-meter hurdles, where she placed second.
- Senior Sami Oblad finished 12th in the women’s 400-meters and missed qualifying for the finals.
- In the men’s 5,000-meter final, freshman Tayvon Kitchen finished eighth (13:47.29), and senior Creed Thompson finished 15th (14:04.64).
- Senior Ben Barton sits in third place halfway through the heptathlon, currently 261 points behind Oregon’s Peyton Bair. Barton will compete in the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meters on Saturday.
- Both the BYU men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams finished sixth (9:25.81) and (10:52.14), respectively. It was a season best performance for the men.
- Through five events, the BYU women currently sit in fourth place in the team standings. The BYU men are tied with Kansas State in 18th.
Utah
- In the women’s mile, junior Brianna Rinn ran in the second heat with BYU’s Chamberlain. Rinn finished eighth overall and in her heat but missed out on qualifying for the finals, with only the top six in her heat advancing.
- Sophomore Chelsea Amoah finished 13th in the women’s 200-meter at 23.08 and did not advance to the finals.
- The Utah women finished seventh in the women’s distance medley relay, one spot and 0.44 seconds behind BYU.