Jane Hedengren had never run a collegiate 10,000 meters before Friday night. She chose Stanford to make her debut. And she left with the NCAA record.
The 19-year-old BYU freshman from Provo, Utah clocked 30:46.80 at the Stanford Invitational on April 3, erasing Florida’s Parker Valby‘s collegiate record of 30:50.43 by nearly four seconds. The performance also moved Hedengren to No. 7 all-time on the U.S. women’s all-time list — a list made up entirely of sub-30:50 performers, professionals included.
The race was no close call. Hedengren and New Mexico’s Pamela Kosgei, the reigning NCAA outdoor champion in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, broke from the rest of the field roughly two miles in, running together through the 3,200-meter mark and building a 15-second gap on the chase pack. Then, with one lap to go, Hedengren shifted. She closed her final 400 meters in 1:06.12, pulling away to win by over three seconds. Third place was nearly 47 seconds behind her.
Kosgei finished in 30:49.99 — also under Valby’s old record, a remarkable detail that shows just how fast the front of the race was.
For context on the scale of Hedengren’s win: Eastern Kentucky’s Edna Chelulei finished third in 31:33.57 — the eighth-fastest time in collegiate history — and was still nearly 47 seconds back.
A Freshman Already Rewriting the Record Books
Hedengren’s 10,000m record is her second NCAA mark. In February, she set the collegiate indoor 5,000m record with a 14:44.79 and, the following day, won the NCAA indoor 3,000m — becoming the first BYU woman to win two individual titles at a single NCAA Championships, and the first freshman ever to win the indoor 5,000m title.
“Feels great. Just really grateful,” she said after that indoor double. “There’s so much to learn. Just grateful with my approach and having some great people around me.”
Before college, she competed at Timpview High School in Provo, where she broke nine national high school records across indoor and outdoor events and was named the 2024–25 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Player of the Year. She also won Nike Cross Nationals and Nike Outdoor Nationals.
Her collegiate debut came at the Pre-Nationals cross-country meet in October 2025, where she broke the course record in the 6K. At the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships, she finished second, narrowly behind Alabama’s Doris Lemngole. A 30:46 10,000m in her first attempt at the distance, then, is less a surprise than a continuation.
Runners who come through the collegiate system with this combination of pace endurance and a 1:06 closing lap tend to attract attention from road racing and marathon circles early. Hedengren has not spoken publicly about long-term goals beyond the track season, but at 19, she has time on her side.
BYU’s Best Day in Recent Memory
Hedengren’s record capped a sweep of all four women’s invitational distance events by BYU on day one at Stanford. Carmen Alder won the 1,500m in 4:08.56, moving to fourth on the program’s all-time list. Taylor Lovell took the 5,000m in 15:15.46, cutting over 45 seconds off her previous best. Raygan Peterson won the steeplechase in 9:55.03.
Hedengren is coached by BYU head coach Diljeet Taylor, who has developed several All-American distance runners during her tenure. Whatever comes next on the track — or eventually, the roads — Friday night in Stanford was a statement.
