2020 Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 21, 2020
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2019-20 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 31st 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 $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 800 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 will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships will be 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. Midland Dow has four finalists this year while Cass City and Ann Arbor Pioneer each have three. Seventeen schools each have two finalists: Ada Forest Hills Eastern, Battle Creek Lakeview, Caro, Chelsea, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Fowler, Grosse Ile, Haslett, Hastings, Holland, Ida, North Muskegon, Petersburg Summerfield, Richland Gull Lake, St. Johns, Three Oaks River Valley and Troy Athens.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.5. There are 86 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 424 schools which submitted applicants, 12 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,491 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the MHSAA Website.
The applications were judged by a 66-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 honor the 32 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony will take place during halftime of the MHSAA Division 3 Boys Basketball Final, March 28 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
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, 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 1.4 million spectators each year.
2019-20 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Alexandra Montgomery, Ann Arbor Huron
Lydia Valtadoros, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Lara Janosz, Bloomfield Hills
Madelyn Crandell, Byron Center
Morgan Cooper, Hartland
Brenna Bailey, Haslett
Kaitlyn Stid, Holland
Lucy Borski, Holland West Ottawa
Mónica Ruiz, Holly
Kayla Wolma, Hudsonville
Eliza Alushi, Livonia Stevenson
Ericka Asmus, Marquette
Sasha Konovalenko, Midland Dow
Maddie Sermak, Okemos
Kylie Ray, Pinckney
Anusha Tekumulla, Port Huron Northern
Jayne Flynn, Richland Gull Lake
Grace Foster, Richland Gull Lake
Raegan McNamara, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Rachel Gamm, Rockford
Erin Middleton, St. Johns
Elizabeth Saunders, Traverse City Central
Shaelie McClain, Troy Athens
Lauren Tarnowsky, Waterford Mott
BOYS CLASS A
Vaughn Hajra, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Owen Rennich, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Skyler Sebring, Battle Creek Lakeview
Vikram Strander, Battle Creek Lakeview
DJ Dixon, Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice
Jack Spamer, Brighton
Nate Sesti, Clarkston
Caleb White, Detroit Catholic Central
Luke Sayler, Dexter
Logan Canada, Fenton
George Graham, Grosse Pointe North
Nathaniel Holcomb, Haslett
Jonah Gilmore, Holland
Tej Kothari, Jenison
Shadrach Cunningham, Lansing Waverly
Sean Anderson, Midland Dow
Saketh Kamaraju, Midland Dow
Anish Middha, Midland Dow
Brandon Liu, Northville
Malcolm Gaynor, Portage Northern
Ben Boss, Saginaw Heritage
Peter Apostol, St. Johns
Davis DiGiovanni, Troy Athens
Ethan Price, Warren Cousino
GIRLS CLASS B
Alicia Kanai, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Baylee Martens, Battle Creek Pennfield
Delaney Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn
Eleanor Kwartowitz, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Olivia Prodin, Chelsea
Elizabeth Norris, Corunna
Tara Keller, Frankenmuth
Grace Beardsley, Gladwin
Hannah Fulmer, Grosse Ile
Hannah Johnson, Hastings
Elizabeth Hovest, Ida
Sheridan Leinbach, Lansing Eastern
Katelynn Ceccacci, Ortonville Brandon
Abbey Almeda, Plainwell
Katherine Topoleski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Faith Schafer, Williamston
BOYS CLASS B
Gabriel Hassan, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Brice Austin, Alma
Jacob Herman, Berrien Springs
Jack Fairman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Isaac Joslyn, Caro
Trevin Phillips, Caro
Joseph Norwood, Chelsea
Chris Lilly, Croswell-Lexington
Ben Lankfer, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Lucas Kopp, Grosse Ile
William Roosien III, Hastings
Samuel Beach, Hillsdale
Alex Mitchell, Holland Christian
Hunter Assenmacher, Ida
Jorden Sowash, Owosso
Andrew Innerebner, Sault Ste. Marie
GIRLS CLASS C
Anna Laurenz, Breckenridge
Alanna Mayer, Bronson
Makayla Fletcher, Clinton
Madelyn Koski, Ishpeming Westwood
Lauren Schnicke, Kent City
Kayla Moore, Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Grace Tylutki, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
Isabella Santiago-Lindsay, North Muskegon
Ellie DuVall, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Ellary Pachulski, Saranac
Allyson Kemp, Unionville-Sebewaing
Olivia Bowman, White Cloud
BOYS CLASS C
Hutson Hohlbein, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Gabriel Seir, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Jared Gottschalk, Beal City
Kendall Anthes, Cass City
Sandyn Cuthrell, Cass City
Drew Markel, Cass City
Giovanni Basanese, Iron Mountain
Jack Pedlar, Lake City
Riley McKenna, Lakeview
John Hayhurst, North Muskegon
Brendan Dafoe, Petersburg Summerfield
Noah Dusseau, Petersburg Summerfield
GIRLS CLASS D
Teegan Dawson, Bellaire
Josie Koenigsknecht, Fowler
Colleen McCarthy, Onekama
Emma Engler, Peck
Kaitlyn Bricker, Pellston
Isabel Mossel, Plymouth Christian
Samantha Teachworth, Portland St. Patrick
Emma Springer, Three Oaks River Valley
BOYS CLASS D
Tony Piggott, Fowler
Ramy Abueita, Genesee
Alex Sutten, Marion
Lesley Armah, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Adam Paga, Petoskey St. Michael Academy
James Storey, Pickford
Bryce Opie, Suttons Bay
Matthew Schmidt, Three Oaks River Valley
MHSAA, NFHS Learning Center Team Up to Provide Online Student Leadership Series
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 10, 2023
Leadership always has been one of the most valuable and applicable life skills developed by student-athletes participating in educational athletics. To assist in that development, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) and National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) have partnered to produce an online Student Leadership series designed to provide the latest research-based instruction to high schoolers throughout the United States.
The Student Leadership series is provided as part of the web-based NFHS Learning Center and includes two free courses focused on students – “Becoming a Leader” and “Leading Others” – with a third installment for coaches currently in production. All three are inspired by the latest research on how youth-aged athletes learn to lead.
This latest work builds on the MHSAA-produced “Captains Course” developed in 2015 with Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS). The “Captains Course” has been taken more than 100,000 times and is based on in-person “Captains Clinics” that MHSAA staff and ISYS conduct with thousands of students across Michigan each year.
Each student-focused segment of the new Student Leadership series takes 30-45 minutes to complete and includes frequent and quick activities designed to help students understand how they would apply leadership skills in real-life scenarios. Course instruction was created primarily in coordination with the MHSAA by a pair of nationally-recognized authorities on the subject: Jed Blanton, an assistant professor in kinesiology, recreation and sport studies at the University of Tennessee; and Scott Pierce, an associate professor in kinesiology and recreation at Illinois State University.
Both Blanton and Pierce have vast experience with youth athletics; both also formerly worked for the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and served as graduate assistants at the MHSAA during their time at MSU, playing large roles in more than a decade of research conducted through coordination with the MHSAA’s 16-member Student Advisory Council. High school administrators, student leaders, and other researchers and mental performance consultants also contributed to the lessons taught in these courses. The NFHS produced the content, including all of the visuals and digital features, and the student-focused courses went live on the NFHS Learn website in mid-summer.
“We’ve taken a good program, and made it even better,” said MHSAA Assistant Director Andy Frushour, who coordinates the Association’s student services programs. “This is a program we do in person in Michigan, but our reach now is across the country – and these courses are free, hopefully allowing us to contribute to the development of even more student leaders.”
The “Becoming a Leader” course defines leadership styles and builds skills to help students consider themselves as leaders. “Leading Others” details how leaders put those skills into practice including during challenging situations. Blanton and Pierce worked closely with student advisory groups from various states to make the research content relatable to school sports participants. All voices heard in the courses belong to high school students – including athletes from Michigan, Illinois and Washington who provided 30 testimonials that describe leadership in action.
The “Coaches Course” will provide the same information as presented to high school students, but in a way that explains how coaches can use these tools to personalize leadership training among their athletes as they seek to recognize which types of leaders they have on a team, and which types are missing and need to be developed.
“The NFHS is grateful for the opportunity to work with the MHSAA as well as Dr. Blanton and Dr. Pierce,” said Dan Schuster, the NFHS’ director of educational services. “We believe these student leadership courses will provide valuable information across the country and will contribute to the improvement of the interscholastic experience for young people.”
Video previews provide additional information on both Student Leadership courses.Click for direct links to “Becoming a Leader" and “Leading Others.”