On paper, Michigan men’s track’s redshirt junior co-captain Mason Ferlic was the best athlete going into the 3,000-meter steeplechase, but that didn’t mean he didn’t still have to work for his success at the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing.
Memories of the previous two years were in the back of his mind going into the race. Last year, he tripped and stumbled on the last water pit the year before at the same tournament.
But this year, Ferlic ran a perfect race, outrunning the competition by more than three seconds to capture his first Big Ten title in the event.
“This year, to finally come away with the win and have everything go right, felt awesome,” Ferlic said. “The plan was to execute and run as hard as I normally do … to run my race and not anyone else’s race, and that’s what I did.”
This was just the second title in the steeple for Michigan since 1998.
Ferlic also competed in the 5,000-meter run the next day, where he, along with his teammates, also found success.
The redshirt junior won this event at the Indoor Big Ten Championships, making his second-place finish on Sunday slightly disappointing.
“It’s always disappointing to not win,” Ferlic said. “You don’t run a race to get second. But having said that, I’m still happy with my performance.”
Michigan also took third, seventh, and 14th in the 5,000-meter run, with redshirt freshman Ben Flanagan crossing the finish line right behind his captain.
“To come two-three in that race is perfect,” Ferlic said. “It’s more than I could ask for.”
The Wolverines placed 10th overall, but the team is choosing to focus on the highlights from this weekend, including 13 personal bests. Of those 13, nine came from freshman decathlete Charlie DeJonge.
Fifth-year senior co-captain Cody Riffle re-broke the program record in shot put, a mark that he set earlier in the month. His throw was enough to launch him to third place in what was a very deep field. Redshirt junior Derek Sievers finished eighth.
“Cody Riffle, it just seems like every meet he seems to get better. That’s a real plus for him,” said Michigan coach Jerry Clayton. “With Cody being a captain and Mason being a captain it’s really nice to see those athletes do well, especially because they’re the leaders of the programs.”
Riffle, who is ranked 19th nationally, will help lead the Wolverines as they head into the NCAA East Regionals at the end of the month.
This weekend marks the end of competition for a majority of the team, as only about nine Wolverines will advance to the next round. For the seniors, this weekend was the end of their collegiate careers.
“We really appreciated the leadership from the seniors,” Clayton said. “Quite a few of them have graduated, and we wish them the best and wish (they) were still advancing into rounds.”