The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Rowing Silver Medalist Abigail Dent Graduate rower Abigail Dent took time away from the U-M rowing program last year to prepare for her Olympic dreams. It wound up being more than worth it after helping Team Canada to a silver medal in the women's eight event. Dent, the youngest member of the Canadian team, was in the stroke posi- tion and thus responsible for pacing the boat. The two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 2023 said she wouldn't have made it without her first three seasons in Ann Arbor. "[It] kind of jump-started my whole Olympic career and debut there," Dent said, via the "Conqu'ring Heroes" podcast. "So, without having the big team and the big training roster and high-level coaches, I definitely wouldn't have made it as far as I did. "My third year, before I signed the papers to finish my scholarship and take the year off, was a little nerve-wracking. It's kind of a big step to take. You're quitting school basically for a year to try and chase a dream that you have. After some long conversations, we decided that it was still worth it. And I'm going to do it anyway. It paid off, so I can't complain." The Kenora, Ontario, native raved about the support she received from her hometown, in addition to her parents, Leanne and Carlton. "The hometown there has always been supportive," she said. "They always had my back no matter what, whether it was giving me ergs when I was home for Christmas for a couple of weeks or giving me a boat to row on the lake when it was in the middle of November and the snow was falling and the ice was almost forming, but the club was closed. They've always kind of been there and helped me every step of the way. "Also, my parents are big supporters. They were the ones that drove me to practice at 4:30 in the morning, 5 in the morning, every day before school. There were a lot of supporters who I had to lean on during that time." Dent brought back a key lesson to her U-M teammates in terms of controlling your destiny and own- ing the process. "Hearing it all from different athletes and their stories of how they get there and the process of even making the Olympic team is always so different from sport to sport," she said. "I'd say the biggest thing that you kind of take away from all of them is just keep going. Keep chasing your dream. When a coach tells you no, keep going. You're never done until you decide that you're done." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Football graduate student Kalel Mullings: Shared Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week hon- ors following a 111-yard, 2 - to u c h d ow n p e r fo r- mance in a 27-24 win over Minnesota Sept. 28. That marked Mullings' third straight outing with 100- plus rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, after doing so against Arkansas State (153 yards) and Southern California (159). Through Week 6 of the college football season, Mullings ranked fourth in the Big Ten with 589 yards rushing. Men's golf senior Hunter Thomson: The Calgary, Alberta, native placed first at the Cana- dian Collegiate Invita- tional Sept. 16-17, firing two rounds of 66 (-6) and a 2-under 70 to finish at 14-under for the tourna- ment. The victory earned him an exemption into the 2025 RBC Canadian Open June 3-5 at TPC of Toronto. Thomson's effort at Oviinbryd Club in MacTier Ontario helped Michigan tie with Mis- souri for second place among 10 teams, behind winner Notre Dame. Men's cross country junior Jack Kelke: The Washington, Mich., native led the Maize and Blue with a ninth-place finish fueled by a personal-best time of 24:04.3 at the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville, Ky., Oct. 5. He sat in 33rd place after the first 2.1 ki- lometers before finishing in the top 10 and shaving more than 90 seconds off his previous personal best (25:37.0 at the Big Ten Championships in 2023). Ice hockey freshman Michael Hage: The 6-foot-1, 190-pound for- ward factored in on each of the Wolverines' first 4 goals of the season, with 1 goal and 3 assists in that span. The first goal of his college career came at the 11:48 mark in a 4-1 win over Minnesota State Oct. 5. His 4 points on the season were tied for sixth nationally coming out of that weekend. — Clayton Sayfie Dent returned for her final season at U-M after leading Team Canada to a silver medal in row- ing at the Paris Olympics as the stroke of the women's eight boat. PHOTO COURTESY ROWING CANADA AVIRON