The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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thing you pick up in college," Ferlic said. "Going into my sophomore year, the other events weren't click- ing. I hadn't hit the times we thought I should run." A week before the Big Ten Cham- pionships at Toledo, Ohio, Gibby recommended Ferlic try the steeple- chase. Ferlic had literally never done it before. "I was actually terrified of the event," he admitted. "I thought, 'What if I face plant into a water pit in front of the crowd?' It was the most nervous I'd ever been before a race. "There were two other Michigan runners in the race. I made it my goal to get behind those guys, all of them, follow them and hang on for the ride. I had no expectations." Ferlic ended up winning the race in 8:50, the fastest time in the Big Ten at the time, and a star was born. He proved to be a natural with his lanky frame, his long legs and his athleti- cism. By his senior year he ranked ninth among American men in the 3,000 steeplechase, earning a spot in the Olympic Trials after capping his col- legiate career with his national title, running the second-fastest time in school history while also improving his U.S. Olympic Trials' qualifying time. A two-year captain of both the men's cross country and track and field teams, Ferlic led Michigan to its best collective year since 1997. The Wolverines won the Big Ten title in cross country — their first in 18 years — and produced top-five conference finishes in both indoor and outdoor track and field for the first time since 2009. Ferlic finished as U-M's top run- ner in each of the final 18 races of his varsity career. About the only thing he didn't do was break Diemer's school record in the steeplechase. "I've heard plenty of stories about Brian and his accomplishments — NCAA champion, Olympic bronze medalist," Ferlic said. "As my career progressed I felt like I was getting closer and closer to what he accom- plished, but … he still has that re- cord." Still, Ferlic became the third Wol- verine ever to be named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year, and earned both NCAA and Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarships. A four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Ferlic was also U-M's male recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor — the confer- ence's most exclusive award given to recognize academic and athletic excel- lence — this year. His career is just getting started. The proud Wolverine will soon secure a professional contract. "That's the goal, to keep training and running, support myself that way," he said. "But I'm always look- ing at what I can do to broaden my horizons through academics. I've al- ways been an engineer, working and solving problems. "I'd really like to try to stay active in that field while running, have that balance in my life. If you focus too much on running, you almost feel like all your life is just training. I want to branch out and focus on run-