Rep Council Wrap-Up: Spring 2021
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 6, 2021
The addition of a girls division to the Individual Wrestling Tournament series and approval of a common start date for all Fall sports highlighted actions taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its annual Spring Meeting on May 3.
The Spring Meeting of the 19-member legislative body of the Association’s more than 1,500 member schools is generally the busiest of its sessions each year. The Council considered 19 committee proposals and dealt with a variety of eligibility rule, postseason tournament and operational issues.
Beginning with the 2021-22 school year, a championship division for female competitors who participate on MHSAA member school teams will be added to the Individual Wrestling Tournament series. There will be 14 champions awarded, based on weight classes established by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Qualifiers will be determined via a sectional format, and girls will continue to compete on boys teams during regular-season and team tournament competition; girls also may choose to compete in the boys individual tournament instead of the girls bracket. A total of 401 girls competed in wrestling for MHSAA member schools during the 2019-20 school year, up from 250 in 2017-18 and then 327 in 2018-19. The girls division proposal had been put forth by the MHSAA Wrestling Committee.
The Council also voted to move the start of all Fall sports practices to the same day. Those sports now may begin on the 16th Monday before Thanksgiving. Previously, football started on a Monday and all other sports began Wednesday. For the upcoming school year, the Fall sports start date is Aug. 9, 2021.
As it has during most meetings over the 2020-21 school year, the Council continued to discuss possible adjustments because of the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption it has caused to Michigan high school athletics. Notably, the Council approved an extension of the waiver of the previous academic record regulation for sports played in Fall 2021. This is the third extension of the waiver. The previous academic record regulation requires participants to have received credit for at least 66 percent of a full credit load during the previous semester. As COVID-19 has resulted in various academic scheduling adjustments, schools will continue to determine if athletes have met the credit level necessary to be eligible for athletics this fall.
The Council also made permanent the allowance for cooperative programs in nine sports among schools of the same public school district regardless of the 3,500-student enrollment maximum. Those co-op programs were first allowed as part of a two-year experiment beginning with the 2016-17 school year to increase possibilities for participation in those sports – baseball, bowling, girls competitive cheer, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis and wrestling. Schools taking part in these co-op programs must continue to show a demonstrated history of inadequate numbers of participants and apply for renewal every two years.
Here is a summary of other notable actions taken by the Representative Council at the Spring Meeting, which will take effect during the 2021-22 school year:
Athletic Equity
• The Council approved an Athletic Equity Committee recommendation to publish the following statement to suggest to local schools that they review nicknames and school logos that are considered offensive or hurtful to minority groups or demonstrate an insensitive bias:
“The MHSAA recognizes the importance of equity in high school sports. Schools and mascots are rich in tradition and unique to each community. Although we understand the tradition of those individual communities, we also wish to support and foster an environment of inclusion. It is in this spirit that the MHSAA encourages member schools and communities to evaluate and reconsider names and mascots that may be offensive to groups of individuals.”
Officials
• The Council approved an Officials Review Committee recommendation to adjust the officials rating system with the hope of encouraging more ratings and providing a more specific understanding of an official’s overall body of work. Instead of the current overall 1-5 rating system, officials will receive specific feedback in four categories: judgment, presence and demeanor, attitude and effort, and administration and communication.
Sport Matters
• In bowling, the Council approved a Bowling Committee recommendation to adopt the Phantom oil pattern for the 2021-22 season.
• In competitive cheer, the Council approved a Girls Competitive Cheer Committee recommendation to study a new choreography chart that will award points based on a variety of skills while also awarding a range of points to benefit both small and large teams which have various skill levels.
• Also in cheer, the Council approved a pair of Committee technical recommendations; the first allows for a connected tumbling skill to be considered a new variety point for Round 3, and the second allows four difficulty points for a one-leg flair at the elevator level for middle school competition.
• In golf, the Council approved the Golf Committee recommendation to require the use of the iWanamaker scoring program and app during the regular season, beginning in Fall 2021. The program and app became required during Regional and Finals play during the Fall 2020 season.
• In softball, the Council approved a Girls Softball Committee recommendation to add a suspended game policy to MHSAA playing rule adoptions in the MHSAA Handbook. This policy – which mirrors that approved for baseball in 2020 – provides a game will be suspended any time it is called before it reaches regulation, or if called any time when the score is tied.
• In tennis, the Council approved a Tennis Committee recommendation regarding instances when a seeded player withdraws from Regional or Finals competition before the first match is played. In those instances, the players seeded lower in that flight than the player who withdrew will move up one seed and be placed on the previously-determined lines for those seeds within the flight bracket. However, non-seeded players already drawn into the bracket will not be moved.
• Also in wrestling, the Council approved a late-arrival skin check on days – especially during weekends – when teams may be competing in multiple regular-season duals. An athlete who misses the scheduled morning skin check may, with coach’s notification to the official beforehand, receive a skin check upon later arrival to the event but prior to the start of the dual in which the wrestler may compete. This will allow an individual the opportunity to participate if that wrestler missed the scheduled morning inspection due to educational reasons or unforeseen circumstances.
The Council also discussed possible topics for presentation during this fall’s Update Meeting statewide tour, and took action to clarify Handbook language regarding a variety of topics. The Association’s $11.5 million budget for the 2021-22 school year also was approved.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
Finalists Announced for 2024-25 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 21, 2025
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2024-25 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 36th year, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $2,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 960 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification and could have more than one finalist. Birmingham Seaholm has six finalists this year, while Munising and Whitehall have four, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Midland Dow and West Bloomfield each have three finalists. Eight schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Ann Arbor Huron, Bloomfield Hills, Detroit Catholic Central, Grosse Pointe South, Kingsford, Olivet, and Saline.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.88. There are 75 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but one of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 431 schools which submitted applicants, 25 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,513 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete Award information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the Scholar-Athlete page.
The applications were judged by a 65-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 4, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 11 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 18. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions and submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services—life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more—protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.
2024-25 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Clara Freeth, Ann Arbor Huron
Katherine Ma, Ann Arbor Huron
Avery Allen, Birmingham Seaholm
Ella Gifford, Birmingham Seaholm
Grace Johnson-Sears, Birmingham Seaholm
Selina Lin, Birmingham Seaholm
Madeline Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Sophia Y. Tang, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Sydney Law, Byron Center
Nadine Fayad, Dearborn
Alaa Selman, Dearborn Heights Crestwood
Eleni Michos, Dexter
Grace Tykocki, Grand Blanc
Kylie Pung, Howell
Bomin Koo, Jenison
Kortney Osborn, Mason
Ayesha Middha, Midland Dow
Chikanma Okoisor, Midland Dow
Tara Creekmore, Plymouth
Katherine McLaughlin, Portage Central
Grace Roth, Saline
Madeline Bildeaux, Traverse City West
Carly Lyons, West Bloomfield
Natalie Weissman, West Bloomfield
BOYS CLASS A
Sean Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn
Milan Patel, Birmingham Seaholm
Carson J. Wright, Birmingham Seaholm
Noah Kaplan, Bloomfield Hills
Asher Langwell, Bloomfield Hills
Calvin Meeker, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Nicholas Leiter, Detroit Catholic Central
Peter Sanin, Detroit Catholic Central
Lucas Groulx, Flint Kearsley
Elijah Lipke, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Gruhith Yerramalli, Grosse Pointe North
Jack J. Lupo, Grosse Pointe South
James Michelotti, Grosse Pointe South
Joseph Spada, Kalamazoo Central
Andrew Creedon, Livonia Churchill
Nimai Patel, Midland Dow
Cameron McVittie, Northville
Nathan Beemer, Okemos
Drew F. Cady, Oxford
Hunter Easton, Saline
Auben Wesley, South Lyon
Owen Przybylski, Temperance Bedford
Asher Paul, Traverse City Central
Brady Scheidt, West Bloomfield
GIRLS CLASS B
Hannah Lee, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Eleana Zhuang, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Madison Cole, Battle Creek Pennfield
Addison Seemann, Freeland
Lauren Sundquist, Gladstone
Sierra Grooters, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Madelynn Kreider, Kingsford
Nadia Marie Grierson, Ludington
Anna Catherine Boggs, Monroe Jefferson
Marlee Plaxco, Negaunee
Hailey Dodd, Parma Western
Alaina Hanson, Reed City
Alexandrea Komarowski, St. Clair
Scarlet Maison, Standish-Sterling
Camille Kraai, Whitehall
Grace McDowell, Whitehall
BOYS CLASS B
Maxwell Volk, Chesaning
Alan Mrva, Corunna
Isaak E. Rubley, Dundee
Brayden Joslin, Durand
Brayden Bryan Lape, Grass Lake
Corbin Allen, Grayling
Oliver Costello, Haslett
Jayse Peterson, Hastings
Caden James VanHuis, Holland Christian
Gavin J. Trevillian, Kingsford
Nicholas Caldwell, North Branch
Benjamin Kelenske, Olivet
Blair Scott, Olivet
Owen T. Feldpausch, Owosso
Ryan Goodrich, Whitehall
Brady Tate, Whitehall
GIRLS CLASS C
Baylee Goddard, Alcona
Kaylee A. Kranz, Clinton
Kelcie Jo Pung, Fowler
Alexyn DuBois, Hanover-Horton
Grace Hayhurst, Harbor Springs
Allie Nowak, Johannesburg-Lewiston
Dayne Behning, Munising
Kate Mattson, Munising
Ashlyn Orr, New Lothrop
Summer L. Pomaville, Pinconning
Tess Tillman, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
Makayla Zelinko, St. Charles
BOYS CLASS C
Lucas Hall, Bark River-Harris
Owen Heath, Bridgman
Jason Zarate, Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep
Matthew Mellendorf, Cass City
Korbyn Russell, East Jordan
Isaiah Kabban, Harbor Beach
Carson Kienitz, Munising
Trevor Nolan, Munising
Ian Weldon, Reese
Ben Denlinger, Roscommon
Wheatley Rodammer, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
Landon Pestrue, St. Louis
GIRLS CLASS D
Keira Jean Graham, Bessemer
Molly Coppens, Chesterfield Austin Catholic
Sarah Bradley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Ella Grace Gasperich, Crystal Falls Forest Park
Leah Durfee, Fife Lake Forest Area
Ella Knudsen, Leland
Mallory Rich, Muskegon Catholic Central
Kaitlyn Miros, Saginaw Nouvel
BOYS CLASS D
Seth Davis, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Owen Plum, Britton Deerfield
Joshua Gaunt, Dollar Bay
Dakota Malek, Fulton
Andrew Spiegel, Hillsdale Academy
Carter Kosinski, Kinde North Huron
Alex Tyndall, Mason County Eastern
Grady Pieratt, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart