Flanagan Returns to NCAA Championships After Overcoming Back Stress Fracture
6/5/2018 11:15:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Ben Flanagan will run his final 10,000-meter race for the University of Michigan at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Oregon. It will mark a return -- after rehabbing a serious back injury -- to the iconic Hayward Field track where Flanagan last raced in 2016 before experiencing physical difficulties.
That fall, months after placing 14th at the national meet to earn second team All-American honors, Flanagan had a foot injury. Then that winter he was diagnosed with a sacral stress fracture in his lower back. He had a lot to overcome, but two years later Flanagan again qualified for the national meet by finishing third recently in the NCAA East Prelims in 29:17.24.
"It's pretty awesome," said Flanagan, a seven-time team captain in track and field and cross country. "I'm really excited about it. This year also has been a bit of a roller coaster. But it's really nice to be coming along so smooth just at the right time. I feel about as ready to go as I ever have before."
Two weeks before the East Prelims in Tampa, Florida, Flanagan reclaimed the 10,000-meter Big Ten outdoor championship he had won in 2016.
So, he has momentum headed to Hayward.
Flanagan, beginning Wednesday (June 6), will be joined at the NCAA championships by Wolverine shotput standouts Grant Cartwright and Andrew Liskowitz as well as high jumper Brandon Piwinski and Taylor McLaughlin (400 meters).
Piwinski, who had knee surgery and missed last season, and Flanagan supported one another during their rehabilitations.
"Brandon would come off the underwater treadmill after an hour on it," recalled Flanagan, "and then I would hop on it. So, that treadmill intersected pretty well for both of us. I just want to thank my teammates, family and friends for support throughout that process. They were comforting."
He also received important insights into rehabbing his back injury from Wolverines cross country head coach and track assistant Kevin Sullivan, the most decorated runner in school history and a three-time Olympian.
"I've been working really close with Sully for four years now," said Flanagan, "and he's had a crazy significant and influential role, not only in my development, but in particular coming back from those injuries. He actually had a sacral stress fracture himself.
"Basically, he knew what it was going to take to get back to where we needed to be. I really can't express how much gratitude I have for having him there for me."
Flanagan (Kitchener) and Sullivan (Brantford) are Canadians from towns located about 30 miles apart in Ontario.
"I had a different coach my first year," said Flanagan, "and so when Sully came over to coach me my second year, it was the coolest experience of my entire life because I idolized him in high school."
Sullivan finished fifth at the 2000 Olympics in the 1,500-meter run, and holds Canada's records in that event, 3,000 meters and at one mile. He won four NCAA titles.
Flanagan, a three-year member of the Canadian Junior National team, said: "I set two or three records at my first high school track meet in our district championships. And went to our regional championships after that with probably a little too big of a head, maybe too big of an ego from my previous performance. Before toeing the line, I went straight to the record boards to see what the records were in the 3K (three kilometer) and the 1,500 (meters).
"That was the first time I ever saw Sullivan's name, and he had times posted that were so fast that I couldn't even fathom them. He's pretty much been in the record section of any race I've ever run, and so Sully is just a complete hero and total legend when it comes to Ontario and Canadian track and field. Actually having the opportunity to be coached by him is so incredible."
It's fair saying Flanagan has become an "incredible" leader for Sullivan. He's a four-time cross country captain and a three-time track and field captain.
"It's definitely been a humbling experience," said Flanagan. "The way our captainship works is voting by the team. So, when I was actually voted team captain, I was so grateful. It was an incredible experience to be regarded as a leader. I was just trying to do what makes me the best athlete and my teammates the best athletes around me. So, getting that recognition was really a wakeup call to acknowledge my strengths as a leader and utilize them on a daily basis so we could work as well as possible as a team.
"Leadership is always something I like to have on my mind when I'm going into training, and I've been lucky to be around so many other leaders on my team. So many could be appointed, and those guys make it easy. As a team, we have a really good culture that I'm really excited about. But being alongside some of the other captains and my teammates has reinforced those behaviors. It's been a pretty great experience."
Flanagan won Big Ten 10,000-meter championships in 2016 and 2018, and has been an All-American in both cross country and track. He said he "questioned my ability to win a title" before claiming that conference championship two years ago, and said the encouragement of Sullivan and former teammate and 2016 NCAA steeplechase champion Mason Ferlic was important leading up to his first championship.Â
He has come far since leaving St. Mary's High in Kitchener, where he also was a backstroke sprinter on the swim team and a hockey center.
"If some people hear I was on the swim team in high school," said Flanagan, "they'd definitely laugh. I was nothing special by any means. But I really loved the team sports growing up, and I really liked the team dynamic.
"Once running really started to open up doors for me, I started to focus in more on that and had more successful performances. But I think playing those other sports paid dividends down the road."
Flanagan has been part of two Big Ten championship cross country teams and had quite a run, both literally and figuratively, at Michigan. What are his thoughts before the final meet of his collegiate career?
"Honestly, it hasn't really fully hit me yet," said Flanagan. "It's something I'll probably think about more after the completion of my collegiate eligibility. But right now, I'm pretty confident from the Big Ten championship.
"So, this is the last race of my career, and it's common for that to be overwhelming for people by going in with a very high-pressure attitude. But that's not something I'm trying to do. I trust myself as an athlete, and I trust the training Coach Sullivan provided for me. And I'm just going to do my best out there, and I think that on the day I'm going to be able to perform at a high level, and give everything I have. We'll see what the result is on the scoreboard afterward."
Flanagan is thankful he was able to redshirt as a freshman and spend five years at Michigan.
"It's gone by in a flash," he said with a chuckle. "But with everything I've been through with injuries and things like that, the important thing was not to take a single moment for granted. So, I'm just going to appreciate the opportunity I have to go to Eugene, and do my best to take advantage of that opportunity.
"We'll see what that gets me. There are no limits, really."
Players Mentioned
