A Rising Star Just Reached a New Peak

One athlete's incredible journey culminates in a national honor, setting the stage for what's next

Jane Hedengren poses for a professional photoshoot after being surprised with the 2024-2025 Gatorade Girls National Track and Field Player of the Year. / Joe Greer

Jane Hedengren added another milestone to her standout high school career Wednesday night, earning the 2025 Gatorade Female Player of the Year award at the ESPYS.

Hedengren, a recent Timpview (Utah) High School graduate and future BYU distance runner, was honored on stage during ESPN’s nationally televised event after being announced earlier this month as the national winner. She was presented the award by Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.

A surprise that helped make Wednesday’s win possible, however, came July 1 when professional runner Katelyn Tuohy – a former Gatorade National Player of the Year herself – presented Hedengren with the news in person. She was also Gatorade Utah’s Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.

“It’s a big honor,” Hedengren said when she won Gatorade’s National Girls High School Track and Field Player of the Year. “I think there’s a lot of incredible women that are working in the country and have had some great performances this year, and so it was really exciting to receive this award and receive it from such an established track athlete herself and phenomenal person. So overall, just really excited and grateful.”

Jane Hedengren (left) runs alongside professional runner and former five-time Gatorade winner Katelyn Tuohy on Tuesday, July 1, 2025. The run happened a short time after Tuohy surprised Hedengren with the 2024-2025 Gatorade National Girls Track and Field Player of the Year award. / Joe Greer

Hedengren was dominant anywhere she ran this season. She won the Nike Cross Nationals Final with a meet-record 41-second margin and set a new course record at 16:32.7. She also captured the Utah Class 5A state title in 16:21.5 – her third individual state cross country championship.

On the track, she made history with a national high school record of 8:40.03 in the 3,000 meters at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She also broke national high school records in the mile, 2-mile and 5,000-meter distances.

Behind the scenes, Hedengren credited the basics – nutrition, sleep, and consistency – as her foundation.

“I tried to set up my routine in a way that positively contributed to my athletics in a seamless way,” she said. “Just coming back to the basics of really trying to dial in my nutrition and my sleep and not skipping kind of the most valuable parts of performance. And yes, like the little accessory things I was trying to do as well … but I think just having the main thing be the main thing, and trying to come into races with lots of belief and an open mind to what was possible.”

Tuohy said she believes the Utah standout is well prepared for the demands of the college stage.

“I kind of already understand that she’s already so dialed in doing everything correctly,” Tuohy said. “So I guess my best advice would be to continue to lean on her people and enjoy the process.”

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