FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – When Hayley Burns crossed the finish line to win the 2022 NJCAA Cross Country National Championship as a freshman at Coconino Community College, it announced the arrival of a special talent. Three years later, Burns is competing at the highest level in collegiate athletics, and CCC is proud to claim her as one of its own.

Burns, a junior at Northern Arizona University and a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, has qualified for the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships First Round in both the 1500m and the 5,000m. The First Round takes place May 27-30 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with Burns scheduled to compete in both events over the course of the meet.

“Hayley exemplifies everything we hope our student-athletes will go on to accomplish,” said CCC Head Cross Country Coach Craig Hunt. “She came here as a freshman and won a national championship. Watching her compete at the NCAA Division I level now is genuinely exciting for our entire program.”

Her 2026 indoor season was a great testament to her strength and speed as she tested herself at distances from 800m to 5k. At the Big Sky Indoor Championships, Burns won conference titles in the 800m, 3k, and DMR. Additionally she placed 2nd in the Mile and was named the Big Sky Women’s Most Valuable Athlete. She went on to qualify for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in both the mile and the 3,000m, continuing a pattern of competing on college track and field’s biggest stages.

Burns has put together one of the strongest outdoor seasons in NAU program history. At the Stanford Invitational in April, she ran 15:18.26 in the 5,000m, setting both the NAU school record and the Big Sky Conference all-time record in the event. The performance earned her Big Sky Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors and positioned her as one of the top distance runners in the country.

Burns is a three-time NCAA All-American, having earned that distinction in cross country, the indoor mile, and the indoor 3,000m.

Burns enters the 1500m First Round ranked 5th among the 48 West Regional qualifiers with a time of 4:08.14. She will run in Heat 3 of 4 prelims on Wednesday, May 28 at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, where she is the top seed in her heat.

The advancement structure rewards the fastest athletes across all heats: the top 5 finishers from each heat, plus the next 4 fastest times overall, will advance to the quarterfinals. From the quarterfinals, the top 5 from each heat plus the next 2 fastest times will advance to the 1500m semifinals in Eugene, Oregon on June 11.

As the top seed in her heat and ranked 5th in the region, Burns enters as one of the favorites to advance comfortably.

Burns will close out her First Round appearance in the 5,000m on Saturday, May 30 at 8:10 p.m. Central Time. She enters ranked 4th in the field with her school and conference record time of 15:18.26 and will compete in Prelim Heat 1 of 2.

The heat features elite company. Burns will line up alongside Jane Hedengren of BYU, the reigning NCAA record holder in the event (14:50.50), and Isca Chelangat of Oklahoma State, both ranked ahead of her entering the meet. Burns holds the third fastest time in her heat.

The top 5 finishers from each heat plus the next 2 fastest times overall will advance to the 5,000m final in Eugene on June 13.

Despite the caliber of the field, Burns’ record-setting season and experience on the national stage make her a strong contender to advance.

Burns’ path to NCAA Division I All-American status began in Flagstaff. After competing at Bozeman High School in Bozeman, Montana, she arrived at Coconino Community College and immediately made her mark, winning the NJCAA Cross Country National Championship as a freshman in 2022. That title signaled she was ready for the next level, and she went on to transfer to NAU, where she has developed into one of the premier distance runners in the Big Sky Conference and the country.

Her story is a direct reflection of what CCC’s athletic programs aim to provide: a competitive, high-quality environment where athletes can develop, achieve, and move on to accomplish great things.

“Hayley’s success is something we point to with pride,” Hunt said. “She won a national championship here as a freshman, and now she’s one of the top distance runners in NCAA Division I. That path, from CCC to NAU to the national stage, is exactly what collegiate athletics should look like.”

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