In her first race as a collegiate athlete, Jane Hedengren became a national leader.
On October 16, the freshman from Brigham Young University obliterated the competition, winning the Pre-National Invitational in 18:42.3. Hedengren broke the previous 6K course record on the Gans Creek Cross-Country Course in Columbia, Missouri.
Running against 37 teams, including a handful of nationally-ranked programs, Hedengren led the No. 1-ranked Cougars to victory with just 25 points—demolishing second-place Villanova (170 points) on Friday morning.
BYU put six runners inside the top ten and eight in the top 20. Even with Hedengren’s course record time, the spread for the top five Cougars was just 1:04.2.
There was also plenty of drama ahead of the race. With a storm on the forecast, race organizers rescheduled the meet from Saturday to Friday. It was unclear if Hedengren would be competing as the defending NCAA champions registered 16 athletes, including the 19-year-old from Provo, Utah, ahead of the race, according to DyeStat.
In a highly anticipated start, Hedengren emerged in the front pack right away—running with Anna Buettner of San Francisco and Silvia Jelego of Clemson, among other early leaders, in the first kilometer.
At the 3K split, Hedengren was leading in 9:21.7, just a second ahead of Jelego and Mary Ogwoka of Tennessee. Those three pulled away from the rest of the field. By 4K, Hedengren was running solo up front.
She covered the first 5,000 meters in 15:36 and closed hard. Hedengren was 23 seconds ahead of runner-up Jelego when she reached the finish line. In her first win of the season, she averaged 5:00 per mile on the grass.
It’s a stellar start for the former Timpview standout, who broke nine high school records earlier this year. In the spring, Hedengren set back-to-back records in the mile (4:23.50) and the two-mile (9:17.75).
Now, Hedengren is a strong contender for another title at the NCAA Cross-Country Championships, which will take place on the same course November 22.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
