Sudbury sets course mark, runs away with fifth straight Legends crown

Jeremy Sudbury knew he was going fast and even thought the pace might have been too quick to sustain in the early portion of the Legends Run at Veterans Memorial Park in Boulder City.

But it held up just fine.

Sudbury blitzed the field in 15 minutes, 17 seconds, blowing away the course record with a 4:56 average mile, en route to his fifth straight win in the event Saturday. The 15th-annual race saw its largest-ever field of 218 race entrants in its first year away from the Silver Bowl.

“I set the pace quick and would see what happened at the mile,” said Sudbury, a Shadow Ridge High School alumnus. “At the mile, I settled in a little bit, and going into two miles, I was in a rhythm/pace that I could hold. I relaxed a bit, then kept my pace and finished up.”

Centennial senior Nick Hartle, who finished fourth, held the former course record at 16:05.

Sudbury, a fifth-year senior at Oklahoma, started fast in an attempt to jump in front of former junior college teammate Solomon Bennett and then quickly settled in as he finished the first third.

“At about the two-mile (mark), it felt nice to open my (stride) up and control my breathing,” the 21-year-old Sudbury said. “I got that click — that runner’s high that a lot of people experience in the middle of their races.”

Bennett, 21, finished second in 15:40, followed by Jeffery McClellan, 25, in 16:10 and Hartle, 17, in 17:02.

Hartle, the defending state cross country champ, said racing against college athletes could help him as he prepares to defend his title. His 16:05 mark set at last year’s Sunset Region meet is the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record at Veterans Memorial Park.

“It was a good experience to race against guys like that,” said Hartle, who only recently started training for cross country after a record-setting track season in the spring. “I didn’t do as well as I wanted, but I’ll take it this early in the season.”

Amanda Gramly was the top finisher in the women’s race. The 25-year-old turned in a time of 20:08, followed by 35-year-old Erica Schramm at 20:42.