BYU Freshman Jane Hedengren Wins First Conference Title; Brian Musau Wins Third Conference Title And Leads No. 2 Oklahoma State Upset Of No. 1 Iowa State

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Kylie Graham Photos

RESULTS

Jane Hedengren picked up where she left off in her college debut at Pre-Nationals and dominated the Big 12 Cross Country Championship women's 6-kilometer final on Friday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. 

The freshman from BYU sped away from the field and won by an incredible 45 seconds in 18:29.6. 

Hedengren went through the 5,000-meter split in 15:20.3 and by that time had a 38-second lead over Joy Naukot of West Virginia. Naukot, who was 17th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2024 and third in the NCAA 10,000 meters final last June, finished second in 19:14.3. 

BYU put five scorers in the top 13 and won the women's team title with 38 points. Iowa State was second with 71 points and West Virginia won a tiebreaker for third with Oklahoma State after both scored 86 points. 

BYU's Riley Chamberlain finished third in 19:15.2 and the Cougars' remaining scorers were Nelah Roberts in 10th, Taylor Lovell, 11th, and Zariel Macchia in 13th. 

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State's men put together a dominant 20-point gem together to defeat No. 1 Iowa State for the men's team championship. 

It was a drama-filled week for Iowa State, which in the past week suspended several members of the men's team for what head coach Jeremy Sudbury called "a violation of team rules." A cloud of suspicion hung over the program as information about which athetes were suspended and for what reason. Also, it was reported that Robin Kwemoi Bera was arrested for leaving the scene of an auto accident and will face an upcoming court appearance. 

The arrest did not earn Bera a suspension. He ran Friday and finished third to lead the Cyclones to second place with 43 points. 

Brian Musau of Oklahoma State, the NCAA 5,000 meters champion last June, led a 1-2 finish for the Cowboys with his victory in 22:53.7. It was Musau's third consecutive Big 12 cross country title. 

Teammate Adisu Guadia was second in 22:55.3, just ahead of Bera. 

Denis Kipngetich of Oklahoma State was fourth, Fouad Messaoudi was sixth and Ryan Schoppe was seventh to complete the Cowboys' scoring. 

Joash Ruto of Iowa State was fifth. 

Colorado, led by Dominic Serem's ninth-place finish, finished third in the team standings with 87 points. 

BYU, led by freshman Tayvon Kitchen's 15th place finish, was fourth with 102 points.