Ferlic, Sullivan Take Home Great Lakes Region Honors
11/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Nov. 17, 2015
Coach Kevin Sullivan (left) and Mason Ferlic (right)
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Fifth-year senior co-captain Mason Ferlic and head coach Kevin Sullivan of the fifth-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team were recognized with NCAA Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year honors on Tuesday (Nov. 17), announced by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA). Both played a critical role in U-M securing the fourth regional title in program history, as Ferlic became Michigan's first regional champion since Nate Brannen in 2004, and Sullivan guided five athletes to all-region honors.
With his individual championship, Ferlic became the fourth athlete in program history to take the title, and his victory was the seventh by any Wolverine in U-M history. On a windy afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Badgers' Tom Zimmer Championship Course, Ferlic outkicked all competition in the 10K race, taking the win with a time of 30:18.3. He has led U-M's varsity lineup in the last 17 consecutive races in which he has competed, dating back to the 2013 postseason.
For Ferlic, this honor comes on the heels of U-M's Big Ten Team title, which the Wolverines earned earlier this month (Nov. 1) on the strength of his runner-up finish. Ferlic joins Brannen as the only Wolverines to earn Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year recognition since the award started being given in 1998.
Aside from his three-year all-region status, Ferlic is seeking to become U-M's fifth-ever three-time All-American at this weekend's NCAA Championships (Nov. 21). He is a three-year team captain (2013-15), six-time Big Ten Athlete of the Week and one-time USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week -- the first in program history.
Sullivan earned Regional Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his second year at the helm of the program. He becomes the third coach in program history to earn the recognition, and the second in the last three seasons. U-M coaches have collected three such honors since 2007.
In his two years back in Ann Arbor, Sullivan has quickly returned U-M to the center stage of distance running. Last fall, he set a new program standard for first-year head coaches at the NCAA Championships, helping the team record its best finish in more than a decade by placing 11th.
U-M has qualified for the NCAA Championships in both seasons under Sullivan, and earlier this month he coached the team to its first Big Ten championship since 1998. His athletes have accumulated five all-conference honors and eight all-region honors.
As a student-athlete at Michigan, Sullivan won individual Great Lakes Region titles from 1993-95 and again in 1997, interrupted only by John Mortimer's 1996 title during an incredible five-year stretch of Wolverine winners.
Michigan concludes its 2015 season with the 10,000-meter NCAA Championships this Saturday (Nov. 21). The race will be run at Louisville University's E.P. Tom Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky, and is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
