Team, Wolverine Duo Garner All-Academic Honors
2/12/2018 4:24:00 PM | Men's Cross Country
NEW ORLEANS, La.-- The University of Michigan men's cross country team garnered U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I All-Academic team honors for the fourth time in as many years under head coach Kevin Sullivan, while seniors Ben Flanagan and Connor Mora were also recognized with individual All-Academic recognition, the association announced on Friday (Feb. 9).
To qualify as a USTFCCCA All-Academic Cross Country Team, the team must have had a cumulative team grade-point average of 3.00 or better and have started at least five runners at its respective NCAA regional championship. The Wolverines met that standard for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, combining for a team GPA of 3.272.
Portland, the 2017 national runner-up, was selected as the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Men's Scholar Team of the Year.
Flanagan, a graduate student in the social work program, turned in one of the best seasons in Michigan cross country history. In addition to an All-America 20th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, he claimed the Great Lakes Region individual title and earned Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors.
Mora, a sport studies major, made the most of his final season with a near-All-America 48th-place finish at the NCAA Championships after earned USTFCCCA All-Region and All-Big Ten honors in the preceding two postseason meets.
Those two led a 2018 Michigan squad that went from unranked in the preseason to 10th at the NCAA Championships in November. Along the way, the Wolverines won their second Big Ten team title in three years and took second in the Great Lakes Regional.
To qualify for the All-Academic award, a student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade-point average of 3.25 or better and have either earned USTFCCCA All-America status or finished in the NCAA region's top 25 (or top 10 percent) in 2016.
Flanagan and Mora were joined by 98 other male student-athletes from institutions across the country. Stanford's Grant Fisher, who placed fifth at the national meet, was named the USTFCCCA Division I Cross Country Men's Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Players Mentioned
