Jane Hedengren and the BYU women kept their grip on the Big 12 cross country crown Saturday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and the Cougars’ men joined them on the podium with a third-place finish of their own.
Hedengren won her second straight individual Big 12 title, and BYU’s women captured the team championship for the fourth year in a row. That makes the Cougars just the second program in conference history to string together four consecutive titles. Since entering the Big 12 in 2023, BYU has not lost the women’s crown.
Hedengren crossed in 19:28.0, finishing 10 seconds ahead of Oklahoma State’s Billah Jepkirui, who took second in 19:38.0. Iowa State’s Betty Kipkore was third at 19:39.9.
BYU’s depth did the rest. The Cougars put five scorers in the top 17 and finished with 56 points.
Taylor Rohatinsky was 11th in 19:53.9, Lexi Goff took 12th in 19:54.7, Taylor Lovell placed 15th in 20:03.0 and Nelah Roberts came in 17th in 20:12.6. All 10 BYU runners landed in the top 35.
West Virginia made a late push and nearly turned the race into a fight to the finish, but the Mountaineers ended up seven points back in second. Host Oklahoma State finished third with 116 points.
Utah also had a strong showing, placing fifth with all five scorers inside the top 37. Senior Erin Vringer led the Utes in 14th at 20:00.5. Hedengren, Rohatinsky, Goff, Lovell and Vringer were all named to the 2026 Women’s All-Big 12 Team.
For Hedengren, the race was a clean response after what happened at the same course in September. At the Cowboy Jamboree, she controlled most of the race before fading to third. This time, she took command early and never let go.
She was out front by about 16 seconds after 2.1 kilometers and stretched that advantage to nearly 20 seconds at the halfway point. The chase pack trimmed it back to 16 seconds in the final kilometer, but Hedengren still had enough left to hold everyone off through the downhill finish.
“I think today was another great data point in the whole duration of the season,” Hedengren said, per BYU. “It was a blast racing out there today, especially in the rain.
I think a lot of us enjoyed that. We enjoyed racing with teammates and working with each other.
We’re looking forward to continuing on this season and seeing where it all plays out. There were some great performances out there today, but I think we all have some solid things that we want to keep improving.”
Her time also came within four seconds of the course record of 19:24.4, set by Jepkirui at this year’s Jamboree.
The BYU men also came away with hardware, finishing third with 91 points. Colorado won the team title with 36 points, and Oklahoma State was second at 38.
Senior James Corrigan led the way for the Cougars in seventh place at 23:20.2. The 2024 Paris Olympian was BYU’s top scorer, and coach Ed Eyestone called it a big step forward.
“How about James Corrigan,” Eyestone said, per BYU. “This was his best cross country race dating back to when he was an All-American. He’s got things really executing right now, so we’re super happy with him.”
BYU’s other scorers were Tayvon Kitchen in 13th at 23:34.5, Isaac Hedengren in 21st at 23:50.6, Dalton Mortensen in 24th at 23:57.6 and Hunter Kitchen in 29th at 24:04.6. Corrigan and Tayvon Kitchen were both named to the 2026 Men’s All-Big 12 Team.
Eyestone said the race gave his group a solid battle.
“I saw our men get out there today,” Eyestone said. “This was a really good race for us, battling with Iowa State.
It was back and forth to the end, but my guys really reached down. We’re going to have to make sure all of our ducks are in a row come the national meet, but I have great faith in my men.”
Both BYU teams now turn to the NCAA Mountain Regionals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday, Nov. 13.
The women race at 11 a.m. MST, and the men follow at noon MST.
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