Flanagan, Minor Earn Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Award
6/7/2018 3:00:00 PM | General, Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday (June 7) the recipients of its Outstanding Sportsmanship Award with Michigan's Ben Flanagan (cross country) and Brienne Minor (women's tennis) receiving the honor.
Flanagan and Minor were chosen from Michigan's 29 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipients to represent the Block "M" as individuals who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
Flanagan, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Social Work degree, closed out his Michigan career by winning the national 10,000-meter title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in a dramatic come-from-behind victory on Wednesday (June 6). After running down the pre-meet favorite over the final 100 meters to claim victory by less than a half-second, Flanagan turned to the ESPN camera and -- in a quintessential demonstration of his sportsmanship -- began thanking his parents, his teammates and his coaches while hugging several of his competitors in congratulations. The national title capped off a 2017-18 season that also saw him earn All-America, Big Ten Runner of the Year and Great Lakes Region Runner of the Year awards in cross country, and claimed the Big Ten Outdoor 10,000-meter title.
The native of Kitchener, Ontario, is also a champion of mental health issues, putting his graduate studies to good use even before the completion of his degree. As a member of the Michigan Athletics Student-Athletes Advisory Council, he serves as the co-representative for mental health. In that role he acts as a liaison between student-athletes at Michigan and the Performance Psychology and Athletic Counseling offices, and helps organize events for student-athletes to promote mental health support. He also spearheaded a fundraising campaign leading up to the NCAA Cross Country Championships that raised $1,000 for men's mental health awareness and involved other teams from around the nation.
Flanagan becomes the second U-M student-athlete from men's cross country/track & field to receive the award since its inception in 2003, joining Frank Shotwell (2010-11).
Minor, a junior majoring in communications, closed her junior season with an 11-7 record after battling back from surgery following her 2017 NCAA singles title. Minor earned All-Big Ten honors for the third straight season after going 8-1 in conference action. She helped Michigan turn around its season, recovering from a 4-8 record on March 11 to winning the Big Ten Tournament title for the second time in program history. Minor went 3-0 at the Big Ten Tournament as Michigan knocked off Michigan State, Illinois and Northwestern -- the latter two in come-from-behind fashion -- to seal U-M's NCAA Tournament bid.
Minor is the third women's tennis athlete to earn Michigan's honor, joining Ronit Yurovsky (2015-16) and Michelle DaCosta (2004-05).
MICHIGAN 2017-18 SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD WINNERS
Baseball: Harrison Salter
Men's Basketball: Duncan Robinson
Women's Basketball: Jillian Dunston
Men's Cross Country: Ben Flanagan
Women's Cross Country: Sarah Zieve
Field Hockey: Casie Ammerman
Football: Henry Poggi
Men's Golf: Kyle Mueller
Women's Golf: Emily White
Men's Gymnastics: Alec Krystek
Women's Gymnastics: Olivia Karas
Ice Hockey: Sam Piazza
Men's Lacrosse: Parker McKee
Women's Lacrosse: Mira ShaneÂ
Rowing: Emma Dietz
Men's Soccer: Tristan Jacob
Women's Soccer: Alyssa Dillon
Softball: Morgan Swift
Men's Swimming and Diving: James Peek
Women's Swimming and Diving: G Ryan
Men's Tennis: Runhao Hua
Women's Tennis: Brienne Minor
Men's Indoor Track and Field: Kevin Stephens Jr.
Men's Outdoor Track and Field: Grant Cartwright
Women's Indoor Track and Field: Claire Borchers
Women's Outdoor Track and Field: Gina Sereno
Volleyball: Maddy Abbott
Water Polo: Laura Jimenez
Wrestling: Adam Coon
Players Mentioned
