Flanagan Named Big Ten Athlete of the Year
11/29/2017 1:30:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Redshirt senior Ben Flanagan of the University of Michigan men's cross country team was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year for the 2017 season on Wednesday (Nov. 29), adding yet another accolade to what was already one of the most decorated individual seasons in U-M program history.
Flanagan is the first Michigan man since Alan Webb in 2001 and the first U-M senior since current head coach Kevin Sullivan in 1997 to earn the conference's top individual honor. The Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, native was selected by a vote of Big Ten coaches.
He joins his coach Sullivan as the only two men in program history to collect a regional title, an All-America award and Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors all in the same season.
Despite finishing sixth in the eight-kilometer (4.97-mile) Big Ten Championships a month ago -- albeit as the leader of Michigan's team title -- Flanagan only got stronger as the postseason races got longer.
Racing for the first time this fall at 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), he claimed the NCAA Great Lakes Region individual title on Nov. 10 and followed that up eight days later with an All-American 20th-place finish at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18 over that same distance.
His All-America performance propelled Michigan to a 10th-place finish in the team standings, marking the second time in the past three seasons the Wolverines have finished top 10 in the nation.
As a result of his NCAA postseason efforts, he garnered USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Athlete of the Year honors and became just the 17th man in program history to finish top-20 at the national championships.
Flanagan and the Wolverines will be back in action on Jan. 13, 2018, at the Wolverine Invitational as the U-M indoor track and field team competes in the Athletics South Competition and Performance Center's inaugural event.
Players Mentioned
