Wolverines Reclaim Big Ten Championships Team Title

Sunday, October 29

Bloomington, Ind.

10:45 AM

Michigan

Big Ten Championships

10/29/2017 3:31:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

Photo Gallery

By: Kyle Terwillegar

Site: Bloomington, Ind. (IU Championship Cross Country Course)
Event: Big Ten Championships
U-M Team Finish: 1st place of 12 teams (71 points)
Top U-M Individual: Ben Flanagan, 6th (24:16.2)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Nov. 10 -- at NCAA Great Lakes Regional (Terre Haute, Ind.)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- From unranked in the preseason to conference champions, the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan men's cross country team continued its momentous 2017 season with its second Big Ten team title in the past three seasons on Sunday morning (Oct. 29). With the win, U-M springboards itself into position for an NCAA postseason run.

The Wolverines went wire-to-wire in the eight-kilometer (4.97-mile) race over the IU Championship Cross Country Course, leading at all seven intermediate checkpoints and holding off a late surge from in-state rival No. 15 Michigan State and defending champion Wisconsin to post a winning score of 71 points. The Spartans finished second with 82 points, while the Badgers took third (88).

Redshirt seniors Ben Flanagan, Aaron Baumgarten and Connor Mora earned All-Big Ten honors with top-14 finishes, and the full seven-man lineup that figured into the scoring all finished within the top 25. For perspective, only one other team (Michigan State) had four men cross the line with top-25 individual finishes.

A testament to the quality of depth in the field -- with seven teams either ranked top-30 nationally or receiving votes -- the Wolverines' winning 71-point total was the fourth-highest winning score in meet history and the highest since 1971.

The men's title was followed by a victory for the Michigan women in their race, marking the first time the Wolverines swept the conference team titles since 1993 -- men's head coach Kevin Sullivan's freshman year running for the Maize and Blue, and women's head coach Mike McGuire's second year at the helm of the program.

Flanagan was the first Wolverine through the finish chute in sixth place, running 24:16.2 to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors for the first time in his career and All-Big Ten honors (first or second team) for the fourth time.

Baumgarten was 11th in 24:25.8 and Mora -- who led the race at points -- took 14th in 24:31.3.

Redshirt freshman Isaac Harding was 18th (24:39.2) in his first collegiate postseason cross country race, with redshirt sophomore Ben Hill outracing true freshman Jack Aho to the line for the fifth and final scoring spot. Hill crossed 22nd in 24:45.5, followed closely by Aho in 23rd in 24:46.9.

Harding and Aho were the second- and third-best freshmen in the field.

Redshirt sophomore Keenan Rebera made it seven in the top 25, taking 25th in 24:54.1. Redshirt seniors Billy Bund and Micah Beller were 41st and 64th, respectively.

The Wolverines asserted themselves right off the starting line and jumped out to a decisive early lead after one kilometer, well ahead of Penn State, 37-84. Michigan expanded its lead after the second kilometer -- 35-92 -- but had to hang on and withstand surges from the high-caliber field for the remainder of the race.

Illinois and Wisconsin moved into second and third behind Michigan after three kilometers, 36-79-98, followed by a surge from Michigan State into second through the fourth and fifth kilometers. With three kilometers left in the race, the Spartans had pulled to within 30 points of the Wolverines, 49-79.

The margin held exactly the same through the sixth kilometer, 59-89, but shrank to just 25 -- 67-92 -- entering the final 1,000 meters.

Michigan State made a final late push, gaining 10 spots in the standings over the final kilometer, but the Wolverines again held strong and rebuffed the Spartans' advance.

The postseason will continue for the Wolverines in two weekends when they return to the Hoosier state for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional on Friday, Nov. 10, in Terre Haute, Indiana. There, Michigan aims to book a return trip to the NCAA Championships after missing out on the Big Dance in 2016.

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