Sudol's sprint to the finish

The 400-meter hurdle race is one of the more grueling tests of character in a sport that already challenges your fortitude to a tremendous extent. There are 45 meters of open space before you encounter your first obstacle. Once clear, you have 35 meters to regain your stride and find your rhythm before another hurdle awaits. There are 10 in total, all spaced 35 meters apart, before a final stretch of 40 meters that leads you across the finish line.

At the Big Sky championships in Greeley on May 13, Holly Sudol cleared those 10 hurdles and ran the 400 meters, collapsing to the track once done in sheer exhaustion. It took her 60.14 seconds.

If you break down those 60.14 seconds, and where she stood at each hurdle, you notice a pattern that has been true not only of many of Sudol's races throughout the years, but also her career as a whole. Focused start, fast finish.

Her father Steve has seen it play out more times than he can count. The closing stretch, the thing that Sudol has become known for this season, never gets old.

"Holly has a certain pattern to how she runs the race. She starts a little bit slower, and then at some point you see that, oh my goodness, she's starting to go faster than some of the other people," her dad said. "Then about three-quarters of the way, she just makes a move. I've seen it enough times to, one, anticipate it and, two, absolutely love it."

The starting blocks

Sudol exits the blocks in lane four cleanly, avoiding the dreaded false start that can doom a race before it has even begun.

Sudol began her athletic career as a gymnast from the time she was a child, but turned to track and field in high school. She had trained all of her muscle groups in gymnastics, and used the balanced strength to compete in the 200, 400, 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles, long jump, high jump, and relays during her senior season.

Sudol qualified for state in the 100m hurdles, 300m hurdles and long jump as senior, and caught the eye of the University of Montana in the process. She signed on to become a Grizzly, and moved from Edmonds, Wash. to Missoula.

The first hurdle

Sudol is far from the lead when she reaches the first hurdle. She is the eighth person to leave the ground in the eight-person field. 6.8 seconds have passed.

Sudol arrived at Montana in the fall of 2019 and began training for her first outdoor season. The 300m hurdles were her favorite event in high school, but the only hurdle event contested during the indoor season is the much shorter 60-meter.

She competed in that, along with the high jump and long jump, at three regular season meets for then-head coach Brian Scheweyen. Then, at the Big Sky Indoor Championships, the freshman competed in the pentathlon.

At 3,013 points, Sudol finished 15^th in a field of 15. But the outdoor season waited around the corner and offered her a chance to try out the 400-meter hurdles. Her best event in high school would hopefully give her a boost of confidence in the spring.

The success may not have come during that first indoor season, but Sudol took a lot from competing in the multis and says she doesn't regret it.

"It definitely taught a lot of discipline, which is what I needed," Sudol said. "When you're a multi, you have two to three practices a day so that taught me how to balance school and track in a really difficult but rewarding way."

The second hurdle

Sudol remains in one of the final two positions on the track as the runners reach the first straightaway. There is a strong wind in Greeley, which is blowing directly in the face of the athletes as they push up the backstretch. 11.8 seconds.

The chance for Sudol to run outdoors as a freshman would never come. COVID-19 put a pause on all college athletics, and much of the world at large, and forced her to miss not only her first outdoor season, but also the 2021 indoor season.

She had completed three semesters in her collegiate career with just four total meets under her belt.

The third hurdle

On the first hurdle of the backstretch, Sudol has moved up slightly. Her strides remain strong as she leaps over the hurdle in a tie for sixth place. Idaho State's Kyndal Martin has a nearly full second lead over Sudol. 16.6 seconds.

The return to the track finally came during the 2021 outdoor season. Sudol began her season at the Al Manuel Invite by competing in four individual events. She performed well, but not exceptional. She cut her workload down to just two events the following week in Bozeman.

Then, in the middle of April, Sudol decided to make a switch, and her coaches gave her permission. She ran the 400-meter hurdles for the first time. It might have meant the end of her multis if she decided to focus in on this, but she was willing to give it a shot. Sudol needed a change.

"I just thought my whole career was going to be like, I don't know. I don't want to say average, but I didn't think I was going to have an event that I could call my own," Sudol said.

Sudol ran her first race in just under 64 seconds to make the finals of the Bengal Invitational, where she would finish fifth. She dropped her time down to 63.5 seconds two weeks later. By the time the 2021 Big Sky Championships rolled around, she had stopped jumping and locked into the 400 hurdles.

In Ogden, she became an All-Conference 400-meter hurdler by finishing third in 61.67 seconds. The 10^th seed entering the event, and a freshman in eligibility, Sudol smashed all expectations. She knew what she would be dedicating her time and training to moving forward.

"I just wanted to try it because the 300 hurdles were my best event in high school," Sudol said. "I just went after it, and I PR'd in Ogden by two seconds and then I just knew that was going to be my thing."

Holly Sudol reaches the podium at her first #BigSkyTF Championship! She finishes 3rd at 1:01.67!#GrizTF #GoGriz

pic.twitter.com/ryv6xPhQGP
— Montana Griz Track & Field (@MontanaGrizTF) May 15, 2021

The fourth hurdle

At the midway point in the backstretch, Sudol has now climbed into solo fifth place. 21.6 seconds.

The success that Sudol found during the outdoor season would unfortunately be stalled during the 2022 year as she dealt with injuries. Between injuries and COVID, she had missed the past two indoor seasons and really struggled to find her place in that world without the longer hurdles.

It was during that year that Sudol began to think about her legacy. In her third year of school, Sudol had one fantastic outdoor season to her name, but the mental aspect of battling through injuries and trying to find success began to get to her.

Sudol started to look for opportunities outside of track & field. She got a job on campus and also joined the UM Advocates, which is a group "dedicated to the promotion of the University of Montana." As she dove into more of these roles, she found that the work ethic that had brought her track success could translate well into more academic pursuits.

The work helped her out during the times when things weren't going fully her way on the track in the middle of her career.

"I think I kind of just handled it by doing other things on campus," Sudol said. "I was realizing that I'm a really hard-working, driven, independent woman. I'm not just a track athlete. I kind of coped with the idea of not being extremely successful on the track with succeeding in other areas of my life."

There is much more to Sudol than just a track athlete.

"I like to say that I'm busy from 8-6 every day and probably a quarter of that is track," Sudol said. "I have a job, I had school, I do the Advocates, which is meetings as well as events around campus. I've kind of taken advantage of everything I could have done at this university."

The fifth hurdle

Idaho State's Martin still leads, but Sudol has cut a few tenths of a second off the lead as they head into the final turn. It's at about this time that her father, watching from the crowd, calmly says "make your move." He's seen this race before. Sudol remains in fifth. 26.7 seconds.

Sudol returned from injury for the 2022 outdoor season, competing in the 400 and the 400-meter hurdles. She had a new coach and a new training plan, and the focus had shifted to the event that she had been All-Conference in just a year prior.

The Hayward Premiere event held at the University of Oregon served as the start to her junior season. Sudol ran the 400-meter hurdles in 61.92 seconds to finish fourth in the event.

Her next two times were over 62 seconds as she struggled to regain her All-Conference form. She found it during the final week of the regular season at the Bengal Invitational, placing third with a time of 61.16 for a new PR.

Then two weeks later at the Big Sky Championships, Sudol scored for her team but came up short of her own expectations with an eighth-place finish and a time of 62.84.

The sixth hurdle

The gap becomes even tighter as Sudol continues to climb up the pack. She's now in a near deadlock for third, and her stride looks stronger than ever as the rest of the field begins to weaken. 32.0 seconds.

The 2023 indoor season is when Sudol began to realize that she could be more than an average track and field athlete. That maybe, just maybe, she had what it takes to reach true greatness. She started the year off with another new coach in Doug Fraley.

A main goal of Fraley's since he arrived on campus has been to bring the team culture to a new level. It was noticeable in Greeley, where Sudol said Griz fans could be spotted all around the stands. She added that "the support from teammates in all different event groups has been the most special part" of her senior season.

Fraley said he has enjoyed watching Sudol grow from a "good, solid track athlete" when he arrived to an "outstanding track athlete" by the end of the year. The success stories like hers may be rare, but that just makes them more rewarding.

"It's really fun when you see kids start to understand that they can be very good and go from meet to meet with more confidence, compete more aggressively, and have that self-belief that I can do this and I can be one of the best runners in the Big Sky Conference and potentially qualify for the first rounds in an event," Fraley said. "It's fun to watch that happen, it's like opening a book and the story just unfolds week-to-week."

She trained through the fall with the new staff and was ready to compete in the first event of the indoor season before winter break. When there was a malfunction with the stands in Bozeman, Sudol and the rest of the Grizzlies were left without a competition in December and returned home for the holiday still waiting for the first opportunity.

Most athletes may have taken the break to relax and recover before returning to the grind of training. Sudol is not most athletes. She continued training hard wherever she could; at home, in hotel gyms, anywhere, trying to maintain her fitness. The weights, however, may not have been her focus while at home, she admits.

When she returned to campus, she injured herself while lifting to the point where she couldn't move her neck. Sudol missed the first indoor meet in Spokane. When she returned the next week, she ran average times in the 200 and the 400. The next week she improved those times, but that was all of the experience that she would get for the year.

Her next 400-meter race, which had become her strength indoors, would be at the 2023 Big Sky Indoor Championships. Sudol took to the track and ran a new PR in the prelim at 55.42 seconds to qualify for the finals.

Once there, Sudol rose to the level of the competition. She ran a nearly full-second PR to place third and earn her second All-Conference honor.

"It was extremely rewarding. I didn't have an event indoors, to my knowledge," Sudol said. "I've only done two seasons indoors, so we started out doing the 200 and the 400 that I had never even tried before. To be able to make that final, and then to get third, it was crazy. That race is extremely challenging. It's like the 800 outdoors where you never know how the cut-in is going to turn out."

In the 400, it's all about guts. Who can sprint to the finish line the fastest? Who can push their body to the brink for the longest without letting the pain subdue you? Indoors, however, there is a bit more strategy.

In her All-Conference run, Sudol started toward the back of the pack as she often seems to do. Then as she entered the last turn, the after-burners came on and she flew to the finish line. It led to one of the most satisfying sights as a fan, the come-from-behind win. The way she finishes may give Sudol the look of an underdog, but being able to run the way she does comes with knowing oneself and using that to your advantage.

"I know I'm not the girl that gets out really hard. I had to wait until sometimes the last turn to make my move, and that's hard to deal with mentally but you just have to be patient and let your body do its thing," Sudol said.

The seventh hurdle

Sudol is now all alone in second place, and takes to the air before Martin has landed in front of her. Just outside the flags surrounding the track, assistant coach Lindsey Hall shouts encouragement to Sudol. 37.3 seconds.

One of the biggest changes to Sudol's career path also came during her junior season. Lindsey Hall, a former All-American for Montana track and field, returned home to Missoula and became an assistant coach.

The guidance of perhaps the greatest Grizzly in program history certainly counts for a lot on the track, where Hall excelled in the multi-events. Her training regiments, ligament and tendon routines, warm-up and cool-down activities all helped Sudol stay in peak form. "Even though our warmups take a while. It's worth it," laughs Sudol.

The biggest impact that Hall has had on Sudol may not even be associated with the track. It's the idea that while the athlete persona can take up a lot of property in your mind, it doesn't have to define who you are as a human.

"Ever since Lindsey came in, she really has instilled that we are so much more than athletes," Sudol said. "From the very beginning, she's recognized in me that I have so many other things going on. She likes to remind me that she's really proud of me in terms of what I've done on the track, but outside of that as well."

It's a path that has led Sudol to feeling her best as she reaches the end of her senior season. The strain of athletics can be difficult to handle. The mental side of sport has become far less stigmatized in recent years as more and more athletes have spoken out.

Sudol has perfected her training, and worked hard to make sure her body can handle all of the challenges that she throws its way. It's been the internal side that has been the most difficult to unlock.

"This year they did a test run of giving athletes free therapy, and I took advantage of that and it has really helped me as well," Sudol said. "Getting the mental side of it has been the biggest struggle this year, along with a few minor injuries."

Scenes from the final day of the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Greeley (5.13.23)

The eighth hurdle

As they enter the home stretch, and the hurdles all come together in a single line, Sudol is now side-by-side with Martin. 42.7 seconds.

At the end of every school year, Montana athletics awards the Grizzly Cup to the top male and female student athletes. The award honors athletic achievements, academics, community service, and everything that goes into what it means to be a student-athlete.

Scan the list of winners and you will see NFL Players, school record holders, Big Sky champions, and some of the most recognizable names to ever come from the University of Montana. It's an impressive list, one befitting a school with as much success over the years as Montana.

This year, Sudol added her name to the list. The award was given before the Big Sky Championships, where she would add another line to an already impressive resume. It was given based on an entire four-year body of work during which Sudol strived to be great in everything she took on. The hard work paid off.

At the final stages of her career, Sudol sped to the finish line.

"Holly takes the things that she does both in athletics and outside of athletics very seriously," Fraley said. "If she's going to spend time doing something, she's going to put a lot into it and do it as well as she can."

The ninth hurdle

The wind now at the runners' backs, and Sudol is full-steam ahead. She edges in front of Martin, who stumbles slightly while landing to push Sudol into an even bigger lead. 48.1 seconds.

The 2023 outdoor season has been the culmination of the work that Sudol has put in. She set herself up during her first three years, through the pauses and the injuries, through the coaching changes and uncertainty, for this moment.

It's no different than what she does every time she races. Start off at your own pace. Build the base. And once you have a strong place to fall back on, the sky becomes the limit.

Sudol ran a 54.80 in the 400 at the Pacific Coast Invitational, finishing second in a stacked field. It was the first race of the year for her. Fraley said that she ran a "good, patient race" at the time, but also noted that he couldn't wait to see her run the 400-meter hurdles, which "could very well end up being her best event during this outdoor season."

Two days later, she ran a PR of 60.89 in her first 400 hurdles run of the season. The time was good, but not the best in the Big Sky. It also didn't meet the standards that Sudol had set for herself. She called her dad after the meet.

Sudol is humble, even through all the success of this season. You won't often find her talking up her own accomplishments or her abilities. She's a fiery competitor, but not cocky. The tone in her voice after that race felt different to Steve Sudol.

"She said she was disappointed in herself because she ran tentatively," her dad remembers. "Then she said, 'I'm the best in the conference and it's time to start acting like it.' It was very strange to hear that from her, but then it was kind of refreshing and nice because it turned out to be true."

The Bengal Invitational in Pocatello provided Sudol's next chance to prove that. She delivered on her message, running an aggressive race that featured a strong final 100 meters. Her time of 59.22 became the fastest in the Big Sky by more than a second, pushing her to the top of the performance lists.

The next day, Sudol ran a 59.30 to win the Bengal Invitational, backing up the prelim performance. The time placed her well within the top 48 in the region to all but guarantee a place at the NCAA West Regional.

The final hurdle

Sudol has a clear lead now, moving past the last obstacle on the track before Martin has taken off behind her. The rest of the pack have fallen multiple strides and seconds behind. 53.5 seconds. In the final 40 meters of open space, with nothing ahead of her but a white line on the ground signifying the end, Sudol really kicks it home. She leaves Martin behind by nearly a full second to become the 2023 Big Sky Conference Champion. 60.14 seconds flash on the scoreboard next to her name.

Relive Holly Sudol's Big Sky Championship winning run. She will compete tonight at 9:20 p.m. on ESPN+ at the NCAA West Regional! #GoGriz #GrizTF pic.twitter.com/hNqPb6rtVL
— Montana Griz Track & Field (@MontanaGrizTF) May 25, 2023

The on-the-track legacy of Sudol became etched in stone in Greeley. She followed the strategy that has brought her success in individual races, and across her whole career. Forget about the first 100 meters when she sat at the back of the pack. When the runners came to the final finish line, Sudol crossed it alone and in front.

When asked about how she is able to finish so strong, how there seems to be another gear in her that none of the other athletes possess, she offered up a fairly straightforward answer.

"I think I'm secretly more competitive than I let on. I just don't like having someone beat me," Sudol said. "But I think it honestly comes back to our training. I've never been more in tune with my body. I know even when my body is exhausted, I can push harder. It takes a lot of hard, hard workouts to realize but you just have to dig really deep and kind of let your body go."

Her time from Pocatello qualified her for the regional meet, which meant a longer stay in Missoula for another few weeks of training. The hard work that led her to the success so far will continue to drive her toward what may be her final race in Sacramento at the NCAA West Regional.

So often, the hard work and dedication that you commit to something goes unrewarded. For Sudol, it's nice to have reminders of what she has accomplished. Her room has plenty of new decorations from the last five months.

"I have my medal right next to my third place one from indoor. It's really cool to see that combined with the plaque they gave me for the Grizzly Cup," Sudol said. "All of the hard work coming together, especially in my final year. It's nice to have physical reminders of that as well as people in the community congratulating me. People from my work and from other teams were congratulating me. It was really sweet to see."

Across the finish line

Sudol will race on May 25th at 9:20 p.m. in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. If she is among the top 24 athletes, she will advance to the quarterfinal race on Saturday. Two lanes over, Texas Tech's Sylvia Schulz will run after coming in with the third-fastest time in the region, nearly three seconds better than Sudol's best.

The challenge is bit scary, but it also excites her. And she's leaning on Hall, who has plenty of regional and national experience, to guide her through the process.

"These are future Olympians, and that's special in-and-of-itself," Sudol said. "I know Lindsey had a phrase last year that sticks out, which is "At high tides, all ships rise." I'm sure that's going to be shown in the times coming out of that race."

A graduate with a degree in Management and Entrepreneurship, she plans to take a job touring with Live Nation later this summer. The entertainment company works around the globe putting on concerts and shows. She will start a new life, one that will likely see much of the same success that she's experienced over her Grizzly career.

When looking back on her time in Missoula, Sudol said she can't really find words to describe it. She said that she hopes her legacy is more than "just being on the poster." The Big Sky title, Grizzly Cup, and All-Conference selections are sure to guarantee that.

But it also isn't the awards that she wants to be remembered for. Missoula holds a special place for her. It's the reason she joined the UM Advocates. It gave her the chance to let prospective students and incoming freshman in on a not-so-hidden secret. That Missoula, and the University, are special beyond compare. She'd like for her legacy to be about more than track.

"I'd like for people to realize that they don't just have to go to school and track, and I know that's already asking a lot of athletes because they aren't just mentally exhausted but also physically exhausted at the end of the day," Sudol said. "But just knowing that you can do so much, and you can have a job and that you can be more than just your track identity."

This year has been special. The sprint to the finish line once again has produced results that fill Sudol with pride. She agrees that knowing that the end was near made it possible to push a little harder. It's the same whether it be the last 100 meters of the race, or the last year of a career.

"I think when you can see the finish line, it's easier to go harder," Sudol said of her senior season. "You aren't thinking about, I have two more years to go and I don't want to get injured. I knew this was my last year and I had to, for lack of a better phrase, trust the process of this last year. Sometimes if I had injuries, I wanted to do stuff because I was afraid I would get behind in fitness. But if I just trusted Lindsey and knew her plan would work out, and it did. It really did. "

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Holly Sudol

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