‘Jane-erational’ talent: BYU’s Jane Hedengren dominates NCAA cross-country field with 42-second win

BYU’s Jane Hedengren has yet again blown the minds of the cross-country world.

During Friday’s NCAA cross country regional meet in Salt Lake City, which featured the best programs in the Mountain West region, Hedengren beat the second-place finisher by 42.1 seconds.

Her official time for the 6K race was 19:06.6 seconds — a humble showing for the freshman phenom, who faced a headwind for a solid portion of the course.

“She is one of one,” BYU coach Diljeet Taylor said after the race. “I talk about her being, instead of a ‘generational’ talent, a ‘Jane-erational’ talent.”

The meet’s second-place finisher, New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei, is one of the best athletes in the country. She won this meet last year, finished second in the cross country national championship and is the reigning 5K and 10K national champion.

Kosgei couldn’t even be seen by the time Hedengren crossed the finish line. Hedengren beat one of the world’s best runners by more than 40 seconds.

“[Hedengren] always wants to get better,” Taylor said, “even when she is notably … above most of the competition in the NCAA.”

Hedengren, who broke nine high school track records during her time at Provo’s Timpview High, will now look to lead the Cougars to a repeat national championship next week.

While she is seemingly a lock to take home an individual title — and maybe even another record — the path for a team championship isn’t as certain.

On Friday, New Mexico edged out BYU by two points to win the regional meet, even with BYU having the first (Hedengren) and third-place (Riley Chamberlain) finishers. BYU was the No. 1 ranked team headed into Friday’s meet.

Team accolades aside, Hedengren is a feat to behold. While most athletes collapsed after crossing the finish line, some crying and falling after pushing their bodies to the physical limits, Hedengren did not look flustered. She is a level above every other runner in the country right now.

“I’m still learning about Jane as an athlete, Jane as a woman, and I would say that I’m thoroughly impressed by how intentional she is about her approach with the sport,” Taylor said about her star freshman. “The things that we wanted to focus on this year is just making sure that we’re doing things the right way and building a good foundation.”

“With her, the big picture isn’t just this season or the track season, but four years down the road, five years down the road, global championships,” Taylor added.

BYU will now travel to Columbia, Mo., next week for the NCAA national championship on Nov. 22.