Austin Surhoff ’09 put together a terrific swim to claim fourth place in the 200-meter Individual Medly on Saturday at the Olympic Swimming Trials in Omaha, Neb. A two-time All-American, he won the 2010 NCAA Championship in the 200 IM.

At the Olymic Trials, Surhoff was a longshot in a race against Olympic medalists Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps. However, while Lochte and Phelps battled for the top spot, Surhoff stayed close. He moved up from sixth to fourth after the backstroke. After dropping to fifth in the third 50 meters he surged forward again to finish in fourth with a time of 1:59.58 in his first career Olympic Trials final.

“My mindset was to try and hang with them,” Surhoff told the website of the University of Texas, where he is a rising senior. “I know they are the best, but it doesn’t matter who you are, if you are in a race you are going to try and beat someone. That was so cool and I know the crowd was for them but I felt charged up being involved in it.”

“It was my job to go out there and execute my own race plan and have fun,” said Surhoff. “The first 100 I kind of go unconscious. The thing about the IM is you have to trust your speed and your training. When you start to feel tired you kick it into gear. The first 100 you just try to ride your adrenaline.”

As a Crusader, Austin was a three-time MIAA Conference champion in the 200 IM and two-time 100 meter backstroke champion.