Ferlic Named National Athlete of the Week
10/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 5, 2015
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Fifth-year senior co-captain Mason Ferlic of the 10th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team was named the NCAA Division I Men's Athlete of the Week on Monday (Oct. 5), as announced by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Each week, the USTFCCCA honors one male and one female athlete from NCAA Divisions I, II and III, plus another four athletes from the two NJCAA divisions for a weekly total of 10 honored athletes. Ferlic is the first Wolverine in program history to take home this honor.
He was recognized as the Division I recipient after winning the Greater Louisville Classic last Saturday (Oct. 3) with a time of 23:51.52. The meet featured the largest collection of nationally ranked teams in the country, according to the USTFCCCA, and more than a dozen top-100 finishers from last year's NCAA Championships were among the 213 athletes competing.
Ferlic was one of six athletes to run a sub-24 minute time, and crossed the finish line four seconds ahead of his closest competitor. He helped the Maize and Blue to a runner-up team finish at the meet, as it defeated No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 13 Mississippi and No. 28 Eastern Kentucky, plus three other programs that received votes in last week's USTFCCCA Coaches' Poll.
It was the first win for the St. Paul, Minnesota, native since he took the individual title at the 2014 Notre Dame Blue and Gold Invitational last fall.
Ferlic also has six Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors in his career.
After a weekend off, U-M returns to action on Friday, Oct. 16, with the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational, hosted by the University of Wisconsin Badgers in Madison. The race begins at 11 a.m. CDT.
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
