The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY BRANDON BROWN T he men's and women's cross country teams, which both finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships, and the volleyball squad, which earned an NCAA Tournament berth, high- lighted Michigan's fall sports. Men's Cross Country The men's cross country team wrapped up a historic season under second-year head coach Kevin Sul- livan with a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Championships after winning both the Big Ten and Great Lakes Regional team titles. The last time the Maize and Blue captured a Big Ten and regional title, and finished in the top 10, was 1997. "Overall, we're pretty happy with the season," Sullivan said. "We met every goal that we set at the begin- ning of the season. I think as the season went on we adjusted our na- tional goal a little bit upwards, and we came up just a little short of that. "From where we thought we were at the beginning of the season, we accomplished what we set out to do, and that's always very positive." Senior Mason Ferlic was the top runner for the men's team all season, finishing as the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships and winning the Great Lakes Regional meet. Ferlic, who qualified for the NCAA Cham- pionships in each of his seasons at Michigan, earned the respect of his coach. "He was important because he bought into the program when I came in," Sullivan said. "Not that he didn't have questions about the way we were doing things, but he was very coachable and brought a lot of good leadership to the team to make sure that we were one team and that there were no fractures. "A transition from an old coach- ing staff to a new coaching staff isn't easy, and Mason was one of those guys who really kept the team on track." After setting the bar high in just his second year, Sullivan knows that it will be almost impossible to fill the void that Ferlic's departure will leave. "Mason's athletic talents were huge for us, and he was our No. 1 runner all season. He's going to be FINISHING STRONG Cross Country And Volleyball Highlight Fall Olympic Sports