It's hard not to bring up Jane Hedengren when talking about collegiate running.
The 19-year-old BYU freshman from Provo has set the bar high for runners nationwide. She holds multiple national titles, records and awards. She most recently won the NCAA 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter indoor championship titles.
"This year has been really cool with the addition of Jane Hedengren. She's leveling us up even more," said assistant coach Ryan Waite.
During the 2025 cross country season, she claimed the Big 12 championship record in the 6,000-meters with an 18:29.60 and placed second in the NCAA championship.
Her performance helped the team take first in the NCAA championship. She was named Big 12 Women's Cross Country Newcomer of the Year and Runner of the Year.
She began the indoor track season, breaking the NCAA indoor women's 5,000-meter record with a time of 14:44.79. She claimed the 2026 Big 12 championship title in the indoor 3,000-meter and was runner-up in the indoor mile.
She won the NCAA indoor championship titles for the 3,000-meter with an 8:36.11 and the 5,000-meter with a 15:00.12. She was named Big 12 Women's Outstanding Freshman of the Year and USTFCCA Mountain Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year.
"I don't think there's anything that brings more joy to her than being out there on the track, being out there on the roads, training and working hard," said Jane Hedengren's father, John Hedengren.
BEFORE BYU
Jane Hedengren's performance started to gain national attention her sophomore year of high school, after she won the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational in 2023 with a time of 4:35.
Among many recognitions, Jane Hedengren was the 2024 Nike Cross Nationals champion, 2024-2025 Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year and the 2025 Track & Field News High School Girls Athlete of the Year.
Her passion for running started much earlier than high school. When she was in sixth grade, she had the goal to beat the elementary school record.
For John Hedengren, the most exciting race he watched his daughter run was this mile race. He helped his daughter prepare for the race months before.
"Seeing that early on, for me, was exciting. To see that she loved the sport, and she would do something over months of time to prepare for some goal, and then had the mindset and drive to carry through with it," said John Hedengren.
LOOKING FORWARD
The outdoor season began on Saturday at the Utah Tech Invitational. Jane Hedengren will likely compete for championship titles later in the season at the Big 12 Championships on May 14-16 and the NCAA Championships on June 10-13.
Hedengren will also be running at the Robison Invitational on BYU campus April 29-May 2.