Ferlic, Yau, Flanagan to Serve as Team Captains
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's cross country head coach Kevin Sullivan announced today (Thursday, Sept. 18) that after a team vote, senior/junior Mason Ferlic (St. Paul, Minn./Mounds Park Academy) will be joined by fifth-year senior James Yau (Troy, Mich./Troy), and sophomore Ben Flanagan (Kitchener, Ontario/St. Mary's) as team captains for the 2014 season. Ferlic also served as captain in 2013.
"The team made great choices for their captains in Mason, Ben and James," said Sullivan, "These three consistently display great leadership qualities. They all have positive attitudes, are hard workers and lead by example. They are also highly motivated, and they have completely bought into the program."
With Sullivan in his first season at the helm of the U-M program, Ferlic, an All-American in 2013, was reaffirmed as a captain after the team vote. He and Flanagan were both All-Big Ten second teamers last season, and all three captain-elects were members of the 2013 NCAA Great Lakes Regional championship squad. Yau was also recognized as U-M's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree. Overall, eight different student-athletes received votes, which Sullivan says is a testament to the group leadership.
"It's exciting to know there is that much respect among teammates across the board," said Sullivan, "We are fortunate to have several individuals with innate leadership qualities; it just comes naturally to them. The team really recognized what effective leadership is about, and I believe they made three outstanding choices."
The Wolverines will continue the 2014 season with their trip to Iowa City, Iowa, this weekend where they will compete in the Big Ten Preview (Sept. 20). The 8,000-meter event begins at 8:45 CDT and will give the Maize and Blue a collective sneak peek of the Big Ten Championships course, as the conference event will be hosted by the Hawkeyes on Nov. 2.
Contact: Chad Shepard
Players Mentioned
