Unsponsored for first time in his professional career, former Nike athlete, Michigan 3,000-meter steeplechase national champion and cross country All-American showcases strength in 8-kilometer victory in return to Terre Haute

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

For Mason Ferlic, Saturday was all about a return to his roots.

Before he was the 2016 NCAA Division 1 champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for Michigan, Ferlic was a two-time cross country All-American in 2013 and 2014 for the Wolverines at the LaVern Gibson championship course in Terre Haute, Ind.

So in a year with limited racing opportunities and no professional sponsorship as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, Ferlic saw the opportunity to compete in the men’s elite/college/open 8-kilometer race at the XC Town USA Meet of Champions, presented by The Garrett Companies, as not only a chance to showcase his extensive strength training in recent months, but an impactful stage to remind the rest of the country of his potential in the steeplechase at next year’s Olympic Trials.

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Ferlic, 27, found another gear during the ideal stretch of the race with one kilometer remaining and managed to create enough of a gap against 2016 Olympic 5,000-meter silver medalist Paul Chelimo and Michigan State All-American Morgan Beadlescomb, before securing a victory in 23 minutes, 43.4 seconds.

“I came out here to win,” Ferlic said. “It was the first competitive opportunity in months here, so I wasn’t just going to come here to jog around. I came here to really throw down.

“All respect to Paul, he’s an amazing athlete. We’re all at different points of our season, but we’re professionals now, so you come out here to win. It’s no longer to come and have an opportunity and an experience.”

Ferlic, a former Minnesota Class A state champion a decade ago at Mounds Park Academy, enjoyed some of the most significant performances of his collegiate career at LaVern Gibson, placing 22nd in 2013 and 13th in 2014 at the Division 1 cross country championships.

For those fans of the sport who might only recall his 76th-place finish 20 months ago at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, Ferlic showed flashes of those past commanding efforts, covering an early surge by Chelimo (23:53.3) to stick with him until benefiting from a timely tactical move late in the race that wound up being the deciding factor against the reigning U.S. Indoor 3,000-meter champion and Beadlescomb (23:54.3).

“After we reeled Paul in, it was all about being relaxed and patient. I know from running Terre Haute before, that last K, a lot of things can really happen. You start to hurt and the wheels fall off and it’s game over, or if you’re feeling good, you can really open up,” Ferlic said. “I kind of felt like I struck at the right time. I crested the hill and I could tell that both of them were kind of failing to respond to the small moves, so I really tried to open up in the last K there and tried to see if I could put ground in between us.

“I love the Denmark atmosphere, but that course was just unbelievable, and it doesn’t suit me, too. I’m 6-4 with long legs and there’s a little ski hill in the middle, and I felt like I was walking up that thing. Terre Haute, running here is great. I feel like I can open up the stride and kind of use my rhythm and long strides to my advantage. I just think I’ve become a much savvier racer. You’ve got a silver medalist here and that’s an intimidating foe, but you’ve still got to win the race. I didn’t really think about that coming here, I was just trying to beat people.”

After not having his professional sponsorship renewed earlier this year, Ferlic wore a nondescript maize tank top in an attempt to cover a Nike kit Saturday, holding off a Nike athlete representing the U.S. in Chelimo, along with a Michigan State standout wearing the school-sponsored Nike gear in Beadlescomb.

“I was no longer re-signed in 2020, which at that point, was still the Olympic year, so that was kind of tough to realize I was going to have to go through the Olympic year without a sponsor. But I’m not really a person to dwell on that stuff, it’s still a business, and it doesn’t change what you do on the track when it comes to racing,” Ferlic said. “I feel like in my career, I’m getting to the point where I realize if I’m in the race, I can challenge anyone it feels like. I just need those opportunities to be in those races. This is a good step. It’s a good affirmation of the easy fall I’ve been having. Nothing crazy, not really trying to peak for anything, just using strength and cross country is all about strength and that’s where we’re at right now.”

After hanging with Ferlic and Chelimo for 7 kilometers, Beadlescomb was reminded about that strength in the final three minutes of the race, but also gained valuable experience for future elite competitions.

“That last 1,000 to 1,200 meters, Mason really put in a big move and I tried to be patient and work back, but it just wasn’t in the cards today,” Beadlescomb said. “I just had to be really patient. I know these guys know what they’re doing and I just had to trust them, trust myself and trust my training that we were going to do the right things. Being up there and being comfortable with these guys that have so much skill and so much strength in their running, it does build a lot of confidence in the future.”

Although Ferlic hasn’t competed in a steeplechase race in more than 14 months, he knows that the combination of racing the mile in August at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tenn., along with the quality volume of training throughout the fall in Ann Arbor will set up him well once he does reacquaint himself with barriers and water jumps on the track in the near future.

“I always thought cross country and steeple were a perfect match. It’s all about finding a rhythm,” Ferlic said. “In the steeple, you’ve got the barriers and the water jumps that can throw you off, and if you start to go backwards, you can really go backwards, and it’s the same with cross here, you start sticking to the ground, the grass and the mud and the hills all of the sudden feel a lot harder than they used to.

“I’m great at finding that rhythm. I think that’s what makes me a good steeplechaser and that’s why I love cross country. To be able to grind and maintain that flow throughout the race.”

Ferlic remains uncertain when his next racing opportunity will materialize, but he hopes that there will be an opportunity to test himself against more elite competition on the track early in 2021, with the long-term focus on the U.S. Olympic Trials in June and trying to secure one of three spots in the steeplechase on the American roster.

“It’s been a slow and steady approach. We’ve had great weather this fall and I’ve been doing a lot of stuff on the golf course at Michigan and getting out on the dirt roads and Arb Hill, just the basics and getting back to the roots of what makes you good in Ann Arbor and that’s paid off,” Ferlic said. “I know I can translate that quickly if we need to be ready for the big track races. But right now, it’s just let’s keep on getting stronger and keep things low pressure, high reward, and not go overboard with trying to micromanage the training at this point.”

Although he knows the challenge will be just as significant trying to keep pace in the steeplechase with another Olympic silver medalist in Evan Jager, Ferlic reaffirmed Saturday that he isn’t backing down from any competitor, regardless of their international credentials.

“With things postponed, this was kind of a nice affirmation, being able to reset and we can go into 2021 now and still have great momentum. My head is in a great spot and hopefully I impressed some people today,” Ferlic said. “I would love to represent a company who is willing to take a shot at a guy like me. I think I’m coming into the peak of my career, and I’ve gotten stronger every year and faster every year, so I’m really looking for big things next year.”