BYU's Jane Hedengren wins narrow race despite opponent blatantly cheating

It's not often that you see BYU track's freshman superstar Jane Hedengren involved in a tight race, so when she turned the final corner alongside New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei, viewers had no choice but to lean forward in their seats.

Pamela, the younger sister of Brigid Kosgei, a world-record holder for women's marathon running, is an exceptional sophomore runner who wins races across the nation like the "power of friendship" New York Knicks win playoff games. The Lobo wasn't intent on losing to the long-limbed freshman directly on her hip -- but she was losing steam down the final stretch of the race, and Hedengren was gaining ground.

In an act of desperation, Kosgei gradually veered to the right, forcing Hedengren to run further and further from the original lane up until BYU's runner was nearly pushed into the fourth lane.

According to the NCAA rulebook, this should have disqualified Kosgei, but the enforcement of the rules is lenient at this level.

Wildest of all, however, Hedengren overcame both the gap to first and the extra distance to slip past the lead runner from New Mexico and claim the first-place finish.

It's a tough look to not only bend the rules at the end of a race, but to also lose that race straight-up in the process.

With the win, Hedengren claimed first place in the 10,000 meter heat of the NCAA Division I West first round race. She would later finish second in the 5,000 meter race of the same event, three seconds behind freshman Betty Kipkore from Iowa State.

Hedengren posts another strong result in what has been an incredible freshman season with BYU. This year's national women's track athlete of the year hopes to continue her phenomenal career as she's proven capable of doing so to this point.

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