Jane Hedengren Smashes High School Mile Record By 5 Seconds

Jane Hedengren continued her phenomenal season with another national record on the track. On June 5, the Timpview High School graduate obliterated the U.S. high school record in the mile, running 4:23.50 at the Hoka Festival of Miles in St. Louis, Missouri.

The 18-year-old led the race wire-to-wire, winning the title by 12 seconds at St. Louis University High School on Thursday night. Hedengren lowered the previous outdoor mile record (4:28.46) set by Sadie Engelhardt in 2024 by almost five seconds. Her performance is also a U.S. U20 record.

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“I’m really stoked with it,” Hedengren told DyeStat. “In these races I’m trying to hit maximum effort, and I’ve found that allows me to run the best time on the day. I’m just grateful for my body and the gift this is.”

With the exception of one pacesetter early on, the runner from Provo, Utah, completed the entire race solo. She started with a blazing 1:04.8 for the first lap and settled into a rhythm by 800 meters (2:11.3). Hedengren picked up the pace slightly heading into the 1200-meter split (3:16.5) and held strong on the bell lap, which she covered in 1:07.

She even ran faster than the professional women’s field at the Festival of Miles. Minutes after Hedengren’s heat, Christina Aragon of Swoosh TC won the elite race in 4:29.38.

If Hedengren, who is committed to run for Brigham Young University this fall, was competing in the NCAA right now, she would’ve shattered the collegiate record in the outdoor mile by two seconds. Her time is just 0.04 seconds shy of the indoor mile collegiate record (4:23.46) set by Silan Ayyildiz of Oregon earlier this year.

The mile is one of several historic performances Hedengren has clocked this season. In April, she crushed her own U.S. high school record in the 5,000 meters, running 14:57.93 against professional and collegiate runners at the Bryan Clay Invitational. She is the first high school athlete to go sub-15 in the event. Earlier that week, she set another U.S. high school record in the 2 mile, running 9:34.12 at the Arcadia Invitational. Hedengren also owns the U.S. high school record in the indoor mile after winning Nike Indoor Nationals in 4:26.14 in March.

After Thursday’s race, Hedengren told DyeStat she plans to race the 2 mile at Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, Washington, and the 3,000 meters at Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, later this summer.

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Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.