2022 Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2022
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2021-22 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 33rd 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, 864 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. Brownstown Woodhaven, Freeland and St. Johns have three finalists this year. Nineteen schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Pioneer, Detroit Catholic Central, Fenton, Fowler, Frankenmuth, Hillsdale Academy, Holland, Holland West Ottawa, Kingsford, Livonia Churchill, Livonia Franklin, McBain Northern Michigan Christian, Montague, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Ortonville Brandon, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Saline, Traverse City West and White Lake Lakeland.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.91. There are 81 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 407 schools which submitted applicants, 26 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,434 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 58-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. 8, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 15 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 22. 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, 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.
2021-22 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Cookie Estelleh Baugh, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Amelia Weyhing, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Piper Barnhart, Brownstown Woodhaven
Sophia Lustig, Brownstown Woodhaven
Madison Hissong, Fraser
Brooke Myers, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Ana Todesco, Grosse Pointe North
Sonya Konon, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse
Greta VanZetten, Holland
Elzien Zomer, Holland
Natalie Blake, Holland West Ottawa
Ella Spooner, Holland West Ottawa
Abigail Lueck, Livonia Churchill
Samantha Provenzano, Livonia Franklin
Erica Molnar, Livonia Stevenson
Laura Leiti, Midland Dow
Alexandria Stacy French, Richland Gull Lake
Ella DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Kiera Hall, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Kate Meinecke, Royal Oak
Alexis Maloney, St. Johns
Sara Schermerhorn, Traverse City West
Hannah DiGiovanni, Troy Athens
Maeve Spicer, White Lake Lakeland
BOYS CLASS A
Nathan Pawlowicz, Battle Creek Lakeview
Brady Wright, Birmingham Seaholm
Nathan Jerore, Brownstown Woodhaven
Colin Pearson, Caledonia
Joseph Marano, Dearborn Edsel Ford
Conner Bell, Detroit Catholic Central
Neil Zhu, Detroit Catholic Central
Chase Gibson, Fenton
Nick Temple, Fenton
Ben Taylor, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Ross VanBlois, Grandville
Owen Swisher, Livonia Churchill
James Oberman, Livonia Franklin
Colin Koot, Mason
Klay Grant, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
John Bungart, Orchard Lake St Mary's
Thomas Randall, Orchard Lake St Mary's
William Goelz, Petoskey
Blake Coy, Saline
Amod Talekar, Saline
Kaden Keller, St. Johns
Jake Lasceski, St. Johns
Ethan Tennant, Temperance Bedford
Michael T. Schermerhorn, Traverse City West
Caiden Carlson, White Lake Lakeland
GIRLS CLASS B
Elise Rose Johnson, Benzie Central
Sydni Mudge, Birch Run
Claire Thomson, Clawson
Faith Breinager, Frankenmuth
Emma Kerkau, Frankenmuth
Sophia Argyle, Freeland
Whitney Farrell, Freeland
Haley Zerlaut, Fremont
Maggie Duba, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Magdalaina Menghini, Kingsford
Claire Meacham, Montague
Mallory Moore, Ortonville Brandon
Paige Thwing, Ortonville Brandon
Alina Stanczak, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Ashley Bower, Portland
Rylee Tolson, Stockbridge
BOYS CLASS B
Zachary Elmouchi, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Thomas Hamann, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Jeff Ren, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Jace DeRosia, Chelsea
Jared Hanson, Escanaba
Liam Anderson, Essexville Garber
Alex Duley, Freeland
Jack Rellinger, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Curtis Knapp, Jonesville
Michael A. Meneguzzo, Kingsford
Seth Thompson, Manistee
Jerome Korten, Marshall
Cale Coppess, Montague
Bennett Blase Hitzelberger, Richmond
Joseph Hayes, Shelby
Derek Distelrath, St. Clair
GIRLS CLASS C
Haley Anne Newland, Bad Axe
Karly Smith, Beal City
Isabel Contreras-Spencer, Grass Lake
Gillian Kuehnle, Hartford
Gabrielle Carey, Iron Mountain
Jillian Koski, Ishpeming Westwood
Jordan Fox, Lake City
Isabel Henige, New Lothrop
Trinity Kolka, Sanford Meridian
Anna McPherson, Saranac
Ryann Locke, Springport
Korah Honig, St. Louis
BOYS CLASS C
Mert Oral, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Dylan David Reisig, Bridgman
Cole Garrison Stone, Carson City-Crystal
Samuel Peterson, Charlevoix
Ryan Doty, Clinton
Jack Davis, Holland Black River
Jack Hollebeek, Grandville Calvin Christian
Isaac Backman, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep
Ty Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Joshua M. Fairbanks, Roscommon
Jonah Cerone, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
Alex Tanner, Whitmore Lake
GIRLS CLASS D
Ashton Hord, Felch North Dickinson
Mia Riley, Fowler
Tara Townsend, Frankfort
Alaina Roush, Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian
Anna Roberts, Hillsdale Academy
Meredith VanDerWeide, Hillsdale Academy
Skylar Wiesen, Leland
Megan Bennett, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
BOYS CLASS D
Cole Robinson, Bellaire
Jack Matrella, Bessemer
Brayden M. Steenwyk, Ellsworth
Jacob Rademacher, Fowler
Eli Shoup, Mason County Eastern
Jonas P. Lanser, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
Samuel Paga, Petoskey St. Michael Academy
Ashton McNabb, Three Oaks River Valley
Novi Principal, Past MHSAA Council VP Carter to Receive Inaugural Hampton Award
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 4, 2024
Nicole Carter grew up in a family of educators, aspired to become one herself, and has dedicated her career to providing opportunities in all facets of education – including educational athletics – to all students through her vision and inspiration. To celebrate Carter’s continuing contributions especially to underrepresented groups in school sports, she has been selected as the inaugural honoree of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Nate Hampton Champion of Progress in Athletics Award.
The Hampton Award was created by the MHSAA’s Representative Council to honor Nate Hampton, who retired in 2021 after serving in education and educational athletics for 50 years, including the last 32 years as an MHSAA assistant director. Honorees have championed the promotion and advancement of opportunities for women, minorities and other underrepresented groups within interscholastic athletics, while serving as an administrator, coach, official, educator or school sports leader in Michigan.
Carter, in her 10th year as principal at Novi High School, was selected as the first recipient of the Hampton Award by the Representative Council at its Fall meeting in December and will be recognized during the Boys Basketball Finals on March 16 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
“As an advocate and strong proponent of athletics, I understand wholeheartedly the impact they have on the whole child,” Carter said. “This is a surreal moment for me, and I’m truly honored to be the recipient of this award, keeping in mind the impact Nate Hampton had on athletics in the state of Michigan over several decades – it’s very humbling.”
Carter began at Novi in 1999, teaching for eight years before moving into administration as dean of student activities for three years and then assistant principal for three. She became principal with the 2013-14 school year and leads a staff of 140 in educating more than 2,100 students.
While leading one of the state’s largest and most highly-regarded high schools – and one of Michigan’s most diverse, with her students’ families speaking more than 70 languages at home – Carter has provided her expertise through several more efforts. She served four years on the MHSAA Representative Council, from 2019-23, and as its vice president for the 2022-23 school year. She has served on the MHSAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, and volleyball and classification committees, and presented at the annual Women In Sports Leadership Conference on social and emotional skill building. She also has served as president of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.
“Nicole Carter serves with the mindset of providing opportunities for all students as the principal at one of the largest and most diverse high schools in Michigan, and students statewide benefitted from her leadership during her time as part of the Representative Council and Executive Committee,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “No matter the topic or details of a situation, Nicole looks at it from a rational point of view in deciding what’s best for kids. She continues to emphasize that academics must be the highest priority in a student’s education, and she can provide that perspective with a wider lens as someone with a strong background in and understanding of the role of athletics.”
Service through education is a tradition in Carter’s family. Her grandfather Charles Butler Nuckolls served as a principal in Kentucky for 40 years prior to desegregation. Her father Gene Nuckolls also spent 40 years in education, including as principal of Saginaw High School and assistant superintendent for Saginaw Public Schools, while Carter’s mother Shirley Nuckolls dedicated 40 years as a teacher, assistant principal and guidance counselor within the Saginaw district.
Carter’s selection for the Hampton Award is something of a full-circle moment for her family. Gene Nuckolls hired Hampton as supervisor of athletic and physical education for Saginaw Public Schools in 1987.
Carter was named Michigan High School Principal of the Year in 2022 by the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) and Michigan Association of Student Councils and Honor Societies (MASC/MAHS). She additionally has been recognized as a Diversity Champion as part of The Community House honor roll recognition program, and was selected as an African American Educator of the Year by the Michigan Lottery in 2016. She also was recognized in 2017 by the Oakland County Coordinating Council Against Domestic Violence.
Drawing from her athletic background and perspective, Carter noted that she strives to be a coach and mentor – as well as a teacher of teachers and students as principal at her school.
She also has continually looked to create inclusive opportunities during her tenure, citing Novi’s Special Olympics Unified Sports program as a significant point of pride for the school.
“I always lead from the lens of equity and inclusion and accessibility, and I’m always trying to identify opportunities for students to find their place,” Carter said. “Ensuring every single student in our school has a sense of belonging is one of my top priorities as principal.”
Carter is a 1993 graduate of Saginaw Heritage, where she played basketball, soccer and softball. She earned bachelor’s degrees in political science, with a minor in English, and secondary education from Michigan State University in 1999 and her master’s in curriculum and instruction from MSU in 2001. She also has an educational leadership degree from Oakland University. Carter taught civics/economics and U.S. government and politics at Novi before moving into administration.
PHOTOS courtesy of Novi Community School District.