IRVING, Texas – Jane Hedengren was named the Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year, the conference announced Thursday afternoon.
Jane Hedengren capped a historic freshman campaign by being named the Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Year, becoming the first athlete in program history to receive a Big 12 postseason award.
Hedengren emerged as one of the nation’s top newcomers from the opening race. She won three of her four meets and helped the Cougars finish in the top two at each. She opened the year at the Missouri Pre-Nationals, where she posted the fastest 6,000-meter time in the NCAA at that point in the season and shattered the Gans Creek Cross Country Course record.
At the Big 12 Championships, Hedengren ran a personal-best 18:29.60 at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas, breaking the Big 12 women’s championship record and leading BYU to its third-straight conference title.
She continued her momentum at the NCAA Mountain Regionals, clocking a 19:06.60 to defeat New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei, last year’s national runner-up, by more than 40 seconds.
Hedengren returned to Gans Creek for the NCAA National Championship, where she finished as the top freshman in the field. Her 18:38.90 was more than three seconds faster than her previous personal best on the course and would have beaten the existing NCAA championship record by over 18 seconds.
Big 12 postseason honors were selected by the league’s 16 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own athletes.
The Provo, Utah, product also earned the Big 12 Women’s Cross Country Newcomer of the Year award to become the first athlete in Big 12 history to win both honors.
To view the full release, visit the Big 12 website.