Mason Ferlic, the 2016 NCAA Division 1 3,000-meter steeplechase champion, former Minnesota state Champion with Mounds Park Academy, and an assistant coach at the University of Michigan pulled off a huge upset in wet conditions in the men's elite/college/open 8-kilometer race Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Cross Country Championships Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Ferlic pulled away from 2016 Olympic 5,000-meter silver medalist Paul Chelimo over the final 1,000 meters to earn an impressive victory at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions. Ferlics time of 23:43.4 was almost ten seconds ahead of Chelimo's time of 23:53.3
"That was a fun race," Ferlic said. "Morgan, Paul and I were duking it out since pretty much the first half mile. (I) felt really strong today. Paul was throwing in some surges early. I kind of expected that. It's his racing style. I just stayed patient, absorbed that and realized the guys were hurting a little bit more than I was, and opened it up and put the hammer down with about a K to go."
