May 26, 2012
• Results | Results 
| Photo Gallery 
AUSTIN, Texas -- Coach Ed Nuttycombe advised that there’d be “nowhere to hide” and the running serious during the 800 meters quaterfinal at the 2012 NCAA West Preliminary Round.
Austin Mudd made it clear he wasn’t planning on hanging out in the shadows.
Displaying some “serious running” of his own, the Wisconsin freshman displayed a strong and confident performance on Friday, hitching himself to UC Irvine's Charles Jock and UC Santa Barbara's Ryan Martin and running with the nation’s leaders to an NCAA championships berth.
"Jock and Martin were in front of me the whole time and I was keying off them," Mudd said. "I was just trying to stay a few meters back from them and then kick it in and close the gap a little at the finish line.
"It was pretty much a given that they were going to go 1 and 2, so I just had to stay in contact with them and not let anyone pass me on that last stretch."
By hanging with Jock and Martin, Mudd was able to keep himself in prime position throughout the two-lap race, holding third place all the way up until closing and kicking his way down the final 100 meters and across the finish line in a time of 1 minute, 48.32 seconds.
His second-fastest performance in the event this season, Mudd also secured one of the three automatic qualifying spots to ensure himself a trip to Des Moines, Iowa, for next month's national meet.
The NCAA championships berth marks the second of Mudd's rookie season, as he was also a part of UW's distance medley relay team at the NCAA indoor championships in March.
"It was definitely a good experience to race the top two guys in the nation," Mudd said. "I definitely built up a lot of confidence."
Confidence Mudd can take forward with him as he looks to notch another goal off his list when he toes the line in a semifinal race at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
"I still have some pretty big goals for nationals," Mudd said. "I'm not going to take it lightly.
"I don't think All-American is out of the question, and that would be awesome as a freshman.
"I'm looking forward to the race."
Kyle Jefferson will also be looking forward to another race of his own after failing to advance in the first round of the 200 meters.
Finishing in a wind-aided time of 21.57 seconds, Jefferson recorded the 36th-best time of the preliminary field.
The senior will race another day in his final season as a Badger, however, after he and teammates Garret Payne, Brady Hammon and Drew Simmons qualified in the 4x400-meter relay.
The quaterfinal of the relay concludes the NCAA West Preliminary Round competition, scheduled to begin Saturday at 9:25 p.m. (CT).
In a very fast quaterfinal heat of the 400 meters, Garret Payne fed off the speed of the race to run his third-fastest time of the season, finishing in 46.81 seconds.
The freshman would not qualify to advance, however, as his time placed him 18th.
Alex Brill also missed the cut, competing in the 3000-meter steeplechase quarterfinal and finishing 20th with a time of 9:02.18.
Three Badgers competed in the first round of the 110-meter hurdles, as Adum Gross finished in 45th place with his time of 14.47 seconds, Matt Widule clocked in at 14147 to finish 46th and Japheth Cato rounded things out in 47th place with a time of 14.65.
