May 28, 2011

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EUGENE, Ore. -- Alex Brill proved Friday that there's nothing wrong with exceeding expectations.

Especially when they're your own.

The freshman punched a ticket to next month's NCAA championships by racing his way to an 11th-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday at the 2011 NCAA West Preliminary Round, and few in the Hayward Field crowd were as surprised as the man himself.

"I don't think it's hit me yet," Brill said. "I'm pretty shocked at this point."

The only freshman to advance through either preliminary-round site, Brill did so by virtue of his time of 8 minutes, 52.23 seconds. With the top-three finishers in each section earning an automatic berth, Brill finished fourth in his heat.

Still, his time was fast enough to earn one of the at-large spots reserved for the next three fastest competitors.

"I didn't feel that good to be honest," Brill said. "I was in eighth or ninth -- I was pretty far back the whole time -- but two guys went down with a little over 800 to go and I tried to use that as an opportunity.

"At 200 (meters to go), I saw the guy in third falling back and I thought that was my ticket to go because I didn't feel like getting fourth in this heat was going to get me there. Luckily, it did."

Brill's teammate, sophomore Drew Shields, came agonizingly close to knocking down the door to nationals, as well. He finished 14th-fastest in the field at 8:53.37, missing the cut by just over a half-second.

A spot in the national meet wasn't even on Brill's radar when his rookie season began. In finishing seventh at the Big Ten championships two weeks ago and qualifying for the NCAA preliminaries, the freshman had already checked off his two major goals for the season.

"I wasn't expecting to make nationals," Brill said. "Score at Big Tens, that was the No. 1 goal, especially as a freshman trying to contribute to the team."

He credits his point-scoring performance for the Badgers at the Big Ten meet as a confidence-booster that paid dividends in his first NCAA postseason competition.

"Maverick Darling, one of our better runners on the team, always says confidence is half the battle," Brill said. "Mentally, that's what will get you there."

There is the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Brill will join Darling -- a qualifier in the 10,000 meters -- in Des Moines, Iowa, June 8-11.

"Confidence, it got me there," Brill said.