Baumgarten Captures First Conference Honor
9/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior/sophomore Aaron Baumgarten of the 11th-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team was named Big Ten Athlete of the Week on Wednesday (Sept. 16).
Baumgarten earned the honor after a runner-up finish at the 5.2-mile Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational last Friday (Sept. 11), during which he helped the Maize and Blue to a team win with 35 points.
U-M bested five other schools, including Big Ten foe Penn State and the No. 3-ranked Syracuse Orange in the win, giving the program three team titles in its last four regular-season scored meets under head coach Kevin Sullivan.
With a time of 25:30, Baumgarten led the charge for the four Wolverines that finished in the top 10. The field included 68 athletes from the six universities in competition, and Baumgarten's runner-up placing earns him his first career conference honor. He is the first Wolverine to win the award in the young 2015 season, although U-M runners were granted the honor on four occasions last fall (Mason Ferlic three times, George Kelly once).
U-M takes an in-state road trip this weekend, heading to East Lansing, Michigan, for the 8,000-meter Spartan Invitational on Friday (Sept. 18). There, they will do battle with a pair of conference opponents (Illinois, Michigan State) at MSU's Forest Akers Golf Course.
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
