After one of the most decorated and successful prep cross country seasons we've ever witnessed, Jane Hedengren followed it up with the greatest indoor track season ever.
Last fall, the Timpview (Utah) senior and future BYU Cougar made history nearly every time she toed the line, all culminating with both of her record-setting runs that brought her high school cross country career to a close.
Hedengren won the NXR Southwest title in an unprecedented 15:50.01, becoming just the second girl to ever run sub-16 on a cross country course. She followed that up with one of the most dominant performances the Glendoveer Golf Course had ever seen. Hedengren didn't merely set the course record, she clocked a 16:32.7 on the rain-soaked and muddy course to break Katelyn Tuohy's previous record of 16:37.8 that had stood since 2018.
With the track record that Hedengren had compiled throughout the fall season, it should have been obvious that the senior was due for a history-filled indoor season. Even then, no one would have been able to predict the absurdity that was Hedengren's indoor campaign.
Exactly two months removed from the grand finale of her high school cross country career, Hedengren stepped up to the line once again, this time at the REP Distance Challenge in Kearns, Utah, on a track that sits at just over 4500 feet above sea level.
FINAL RANKINGS:
COROS MileSplit 50 Girls Indoor T&F Rankings
In her first track race since June of last year, she stopped the clock at 4:36.23, the fastest performance in indoor history, surpassing Tatum David's mark of 4:37.20 from 2023.
Two weeks after her phenomenal rust-buster, Hedengren made the trip up north to Pocatello, Idaho, for the Simplot Games. Once again racing at nearly 4500 feet above sea level, Hedengren exceeded any and all expectations in the 3200m final, running a new national record of 9:37.50, taking down Mary Cain's record of 9:38.68 that had stood for over a decade.
For most athletes, a pair of national records would have sufficed, but Hedengren was on a roll,l and no one was going to get in her way.
As one of the coveted members of the Nike Elite program, Hedengren spent her national championship weekend at The Armory in New York City at Nike Indoor Nationals, where she solidified herself as the greatest distance runner in high school history.
In her first race of the weekend, the 18-year-old obliterated the U20 American record in the 5000m, clocking 15:13.26 to become the first American girl to ever break 15:20 indoors or outdoors. Simultaneously, Hedengren smashed the high school record as well, taking Elizabeth Leachman's spot at the top.
Video: Joshua Potts/MileSpilt
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Less than four days after making history in the 5000m, Hedengren capped off her historic indoor campaign with a 4:26.14 performance in the mile to break Sadie Engelhardt's record by nearly two seconds.
For what it's worth, Hedengren also established a 14-second gap on the field after taking it out in 2:12 for 800m.
Although she only raced five times this past winter, Timpview star heads into the outdoor season with three national records to her name and a whole lot of momentum, and a pair of COROS Girls National Athlete of the Year awards.
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MileSplit50 Athlete Of The Year History:
2025 Indoor AOY: Jane Hendegran, Timpview (UT)
2024 XC AOY: Jane Hedengren, Timpview (UT)
2024 Outdoor AOY: Sadie Engelhardt, Ventura (CA)
2024 Indoor AOY: Elizabeth Leachman, Boerne Champion (TX)
2023 XC AOY: Addison Ritzenhein, Niwot (CO)
2023 Outdoor AOY: Shawnti Jackson, South Granville (NC)
2023 Indoor AOY: Adeajah Hodge, Montverde Academy (FL)
2022 XC AOY: Irene Riggs, Morgantown (WV)
2022 Outdoor AOY: Juliette Whittaker, Mount De Sales (MD)
2022 Indoor AOY: Roisin Willis, Stevens Point (WI)
2021 XC AOY: Natalie Cook, Flower Mound (TX)
2021 Outdoor AOY: Roisin Willis, Stevens Point (WI)
2021 Indoor AOY: Sophia Gorriaran, Moses Brown School
2020 XC AOY: Jenna Hutchins, Science Hill (TN)
2020 Outdoor AOY: No award (Covid year)
2020 Indoor AOY: Athing Mu, Trenton TC (NJ)
2019 XC AOY: Katelyn Tuohy, North Rockland (NY)
2019 Outdoor AOY: Briana Williams, Northeast (Oakland) (FL)
2019 Indoor AOY: Athing Mu, Trenton TC (NJ)
2018 XC AOY: Katelyn Tuohy, North Rockland (NY)
2018 Outdoor AOY: Katelyn Tuohy, North Rockland (NY)
2018 Indoor AOY: Katelyn Tuohy, North Rockland (NY)