WHAT'S NEXT?
MEN'S TRACK & FIELD
BY BRIAN MASON
Cupboard far from bare
for next Badgers coach
Loaded roster has UW poised for special year
A
ustin Mudd knew it as
soon as he hit the finish
line.
"That was my race," he
said after finishing fourth in
the 1500 meters at the NCAA
outdoor championships on
June 8. "I should have won."
That Mudd was disappointed after backing up
his third-place finish in the
56 » VARSITY
JUN E 20, 2013
NCAA indoor mile with another All-America performance outdoors is telling.
The sophomore has high
goals for himself — and the
talent to back them up.
In an event in which nearly every elite runner believes
himself to have the best finishing kick, it may be true for
Mudd. No one closed better
@Badger_Track
than Mudd in that NCAA final, especially over the last 300 meters, when
he charged from five meters in back
of the pack all the way to the front.
Had he just been in a little bit better position at the bell, Mudd would
have been sitting pretty in his type of
race: a tactical, sit-and-kick affair.
"With 400 to go I had to swing to
the back of the pack and go out wide
to try to pass everyone," he said. "I
was working so hard. I wanted that
top-three finish."
Whoever is tabbed to follow legendary UW head coach Ed Nuttycombe, who announced his retirement last week after 30 seasons at
the helm, will inherit a roster stocked
with national-caliber talent.
Mudd — UW's school recordholder in the mile at 3:57.98 — is at
the top of that list, along with fellow middle-distance standout Alex
Hatz, Olympian Mohammed Ahmed
in the distance events, 5000 meters
All-American Reed Connor, heptathlon star Japheth Cato and Big Ten
champions Danny Block (throws)
and Zach Ziemek (multi-events) — to
name a few.
Ahmed, Block, Cato and Connor
are all seniors with a host of big-meet
experience.
In short, the cupboard is far from
bare for the Badgers heading into
2014.
Add in Michael Lihrman, a transfer who redshirted this season and
has All-America talent in the throws,
and the stage is set for a special season for the Badgers, both indoors
and out.
