Four Wolverines Earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Recognition
7/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
July 23, 2015
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Four members of the University of Michigan track and field team received All-Academic accolades for the 2015 season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced this week (Tuesday, July 21).
2015 USTFCCCA Individual All-Academic Honorees
Ali Arastu
Mason Ferlic
Connor Mora
Morsi Rayyan
For Mason Ferlic, the honor marks his third consecutive recognition from the coaches association.
Nebraska led all teams with 15 honorees, marking the second consecutive year atop this list. As a whole, the Big Ten topped the list of conferences with 68 honorees, followed by the SEC with 49.
A two-year co-captain, fifth-year senior Ali Arastu set personal bests in four events during the indoor season, including breaking the program record in the 400m race. Arastu clocked 46.53 at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational (Feb. 7) to break the 28-year-old mark held by Omar Davidson. He competed in both the 60m hurdles and the 400m race at the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 27-28), but an injury derailed his postseason and the remainder of his final year in Maize and Blue.
Senior/junior co-captain Ferlic won Big Ten titles in both the indoor 5,000m race and outdoor 3,000m steeplechase, and was also the outdoor 5K runner-up. After a personal-best steeplechase time of 8:35.45 (sixth-fastest mark in U-M history) at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (May 30) and a strong 5,000m performance earned him a pair of runner-up finishes, Ferlic ran both races in Eugene at the NCAA Outdoor Championships (June 12). He was honorable mention in the steeplechase.
He set PRs in the indoor mile and in three outdoor races, and recently competed at the U.S. Championships (June 28). Ferlic was also a Capital One Academic All-America second team honoree.
Sophomore/freshman Connor Mora came on strong during the outdoor season of his first campaign in Maize and Blue. He scored for U-M at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships (May 16) with a seventh-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase, and went on to compete in the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds in the same event.
Fifth-year senior Morsi Rayyan scored in both the indoor and outdoor conference meets during his final season at U-M, placing fifth in the indoor 5,000m run and earning seventh and eighth-place finishes in the outdoor 5 and 10Ks. Rayyan qualified for the NCAA Championships in the latter race after a 10th-place finish at the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds (May 28), becoming the first-ever NCAA qualifier under first-year distance coach Kevin Sullivan. He went on to earn honorable mention recognition for his efforts at the NCAA Championships in Eugene.
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard (734) 763-4423
