The Wolverine

August 2016

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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BY CHRIS BALAS C all Mason Ferlic Michigan's man for all seasons. The fifth- year senior competed for the Wolverines' cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field teams, and his outstanding career ended with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase June 10 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ferlic became the men's outdoor program's first national title winner since 2007 and just the second steeple- chase champion in program history, joining Olympic bronze medalist Brian Diemer (1983), when he ran a career best 8:27.16. As if that weren't impressive enough, he recently graduated with his master's degree in aerospace en- gineering, having already earned an undergraduate degree in the same concentration. He was named to an Academic All-America team for the third straight year after he earned third-team recognition in both 2014 and 2015 — his exploits make him The Wolverine's Male Athlete of the Year. Many sports participants speak of the demands on student-athletes and the importance of academics, but few have met them like Ferlic. "It was not the normal life of a col- lege student," Ferlic said with a laugh. "But as I matured I got a lot better at managing the best of both worlds. I was always a good student, strong in high school, and wanted to bring that as well. "I'm really happy with my academic career. I wanted to balance training and practice with what I did for school- work. The sacrifices … time manage- ment is the biggest component of that. There isn't much room for procrastina- tion, but it was something that needed to be done and I enjoyed every minute of it. The sacrifices I had to make were well worth it." Ferlic didn't know much about MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR MASON FERLIC Leader Of The Pack Track And Cross Country Star Mason Ferlic Paced Michigan's Squads To High Finishes

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