AMES, Iowa – After leading the Iowa State men’s cross country team to Top 5 finishes at two of the last three NCAA Championships, the Cyclones’ Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jeremy Sudbury has been rewarded with a new contract, Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard announced today.

“Jeremy Sudbury has done a tremendous job leading our program and instilling a championship culture since taking over in the summer of 2021,” Pollard said. “I look forward to watching our programs continue to excel academically and athletically under Jeremy’s leadership. The future of Iowa State Track & Field is very bright.”

Sudbury, who is in his 11^th year on the ISU staff and third leading the program in 2023-24, has guided a talented group of student-athletes to historic accomplishments and record-breaking performances. His new contract will run thru June 30, 2030.

The 2023 Iowa State men’s cross country team placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships, second at the NCAA Midwest Regional and fifth at the NCAA Championships; marking the third time in the last five seasons the program produced a Top 5 NCAA finish. Only Northern Arizona and Oklahoma State have enjoyed more Top 5 NCAA finishes than Iowa State in that span. The Cyclone women, meanwhile, were 20^th at the 2023 NCAA Championships and have advanced to the final site in eight of the last 10 seasons.

“I am extremely humbled to lead the Iowa State track and cross country programs, and grateful for the belief that Jamie (Pollard) and Calli (Sanders) have shown me with this new contract to continue leading our tradition-rich programs,” Sudbury said. “It shows great commitment to myself and my family, as well as our staff and student-athletes. As the Big 12 continues to evolve, I believe this will provide the stability necessary for us to continue building upon our past successes and fulfill Jamie’s vision for Iowa State’s championship-level track and cross country programs.

“My family is grateful to call Ames our home, and we look forward to the continued support of Cyclone Nation in future years,” he added.

His tenure leading the Iowa State program got off to a flying start during the 2021 cross country season, as both the men’s and women’s programs finished in the Top 10 in the same year for the first time since 1985. Sudbury’s men’s squad, which he oversees, finished second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, its fifth Top 2 NCAA placement in program history. Sudbury’s star pupil, Wesley Kiptoo, took second at the 2021 NCAA Championships, his second Top 3 placement as a Cyclone, and Thomas Pollard took 21st to earn his first career All-America honor. The men’s cross country squad had seven All-Big 12 honorees in 2021, the third-straight season it produced seven honorees.

In Kiptoo, Sudbury helped continue to develop one of the nation’s strongest and most versatile runners. Sudbury coached Kiptoo to a program-record six Big 12 titles in 2020-21, as he became the first male in Big 12 history to win three individual titles at a single conference outdoor championship meet with meet records in all three of the 3,000m steeplechase, 5,000m and 10,000m. Kiptoo also earned four All-America honors and took down five school records in his debut season in Ames.

Edwin Kurgat claimed the 2019 NCAA Cross Country crown under Sudbury’s tutelage, along with picking up a pair of Big 12 and NCAA Midwest Regional titles during his Cyclone cross country career. Kurgat’s kick, developed under Sudbury’s watch, allowed the Kenyan to pull away from the field at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships and claim ISU’s first individual title since 1990.

On the track, Ezekiel Rop earned first-team All-America honors in the 1,500m, racing to a time of 3:43.59 to place seventh at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. All-told, the Cyclones produced nine All-Americans, eight new school records, 38 outdoor and 25 indoor All-Big 12 honors in 2023. The Cyclone women finished third at the 2023 Big 12 Outdoor Championships, their highest finish ever, and tallied a program-record 107.5 points, while the ISU men’s 800m squad was ranked #1 for much of the 2023 indoor season.

The 2022 track and field season saw many great stories throughout Sudbury’s pupils. Four earned All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, peaking with Jason Gomez taking fourth in the 800m run in a then-personal best 1:46.34. Nehemia Too took down ISU’s 28-year-old school record in the 1,500m run (3:39.15), which came after his anchor carry on the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships took ISU from 10th to sixth and to first-team All-America distinction.