Wolverines' Flanagan Awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
3/14/2018 5:56:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Redshirt senior distance runner Ben Flanagan of the University of Michigan men's track and field and cross country teams has been awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for his excellence in competition, the classroom and the community.
The NCAA awards the scholarships, valued at $7,500, to student-athletes in their final year of eligibility on the basis of their academic and athletic achievements, campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership.
Flanagan, enrolled in the graduate program in the School of Social Work studying interpersonal practice with a focus on mental health, is one of 174 athletes this year who received the scholarship towards the graduate program of his choice.
"It's a huge honor to be recognized for my personal efforts, and I am very excited about it," Flanagan said. "Student-athletes are incredibly disciplined, hard-working and intelligent, and I can only imagine those who applied for this scholarship all completely epitomize these qualities, as well. To be selected from that group is truly an honor."
In addition to his current master's program, which concludes after this upcoming fall semester, Flanagan is in the process of applying to begin studies on a second master's degree at Michigan.
During the fall of 2017, Flanagan turned in one of the best seasons in Michigan cross country history, earning All-America honors with a 20th-place individual finish as he led the team to a 10th place national showing.
He is the only 2017 NCAA Division-I Cross Country All-American to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
He ran 30:54.0 over 10 kilometers to capture the NCAA Great Lakes Regional individual title in 2017 and earn USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Athlete of the Year honors. He was named Big Ten cross country Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of the season and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors at the conference meet for his fourth All-Conference selection.
A successful track star as well, Flanagan ran 29:35.32 in the 10,000-meter final to win the outdoor Big Ten Conference title in 2016. That season, he was also named a USTFCCCA second-team All-American with a 14th-place finish over the same distance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. So far in 2018 he has run a career-best 13:48.58 over 5,000 meters indoors to move to No. 5 on the all-time Michigan list in the event.
Flanagan's academic performance rivals his athletic achievement. After being named to his fourth USTFCCCA national All-Academic team, he also earned his seventh Academic All-Big Ten honors. He also earned the U-M Academic Athletic Achievement Award from 2013-2017.
A four-time cross country and two-time track and field captain, Flanagan has demonstrated exemplary leadership in his time at Michigan. He currently serves as a co-representative for mental health on Michigan's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), and serves as a liaison between student-athletes and the athletic department's Performance Psychology and Athletic Counseling team and organizing mental health advocacy programs and events.
Players Mentioned
