In the past few years the college cross country field has been growing dramatically, from Katelyn Tuohy and the many high school records that she translated into college wins, to Parker Valby’s quick takeover just last year. The field keeps getting faster and faster, but a new freshman is showing even more promise than anyone in the current field.
Jane Hedengren from Provo, Utah, a true freshman at Brigham Young University, is showing the NCAA something they have never seen before.
She holds nine national high school records and has scored well in races with the NCAA’s best runners before she even graduated high school. But now that she is actually racing with them, she is truly taking over.
Winning her debut college race at Gans Creek in Columbia, Mo., Hedengren gapped the field by over 20 seconds. She also has joined of the most successful teams: BYU’s men’s and women’s teams both won the national championship in 2024, and due to the help of Hedengren, the women won their pre-invintational race to start off their season on a high note.
She is also one of the only runners to have a Wikipedia page dedicated to her while she was still in high school, showing just how much recognition she got for her successes. She holds records for cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field. Her talent ranges from the 1500 meters to the 6000 meters on both the track and the cross country courses.
Hedegren is already proving herself in one of the most competitive leagues in the world, and she has just started. If she keeps up with this amount of success and improvement over the next three years she has in college, she has a great future ahead in running. Whether it be professionally after she graduates or in the Olympics, Hedengren is on her way.
