Inman's 'Spirit' Recognized by NFHS
March 12, 2019
By John Gillis
Special from NFHS
Searra Inman, a student-athlete at Niles Brandywine High School, has been selected as the Section 4 recipient of the “National High School Spirit of Sport Award” by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
The National High School Spirit of Sport Award was created by the NFHS to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics.
A soccer and wrestling participant during her athletic career at Brandywine High School, Inman’s life changed forever during the summer between her junior and senior years.
At that time, she was diligently preparing for her senior wrestling season. With 75 career victories to her credit, she had two goals – to achieve 100 victories and to earn a four-year varsity wrestling plaque.
On July 9, 2018, Inman was involved in a motorcycle crash that left her with a displaced vertebral fracture that severed her spinal cord and resulted in her being paralyzed from the waist down.
Inman underwent surgical procedures at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. Surgeons in Indianapolis used her as a case study due to the fact that almost no one with such severe spinal cord injuries had reached the operating table alive. Her initial prognosis was that she would remain hospitalized into January 2019.
However, on Sept. 14, 2018, Inman led her school’s football team onto the field for its Week 4 game. Then, during Brandywine High School’s December 5th wrestling season opener with Bronson High School, Inman locked her wheelchair, crawled in uniform to the circle of the wrestling mat, and was awarded a forfeit win in the 103-pound weight class.
However, the best might have been saved for last when during a Feb. 12 Division 4 Regional match against Schoolcraft, Inman once again moved to the center of the mat, had her hand raised for another forfeit, and in the process, got victory No. 100 and accomplished her mission.
Click to read the Second Half report "In Her Fight, Inman Seeks to Provide Hope" published earlier this winter.
About the Award
The NFHS divides the nation into eight geographical sections. The states in Section 4 are Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.
Nominations for this award were generated through NFHS member state associations and reviewed by the NFHS Spirit of Sport Award Selection Committee composed of state association staff members.
While the national winner will be recognized June 29 at the NFHS Summer Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, the section winners will be recognized within their respective states and will receive awards before the end of the current school year.
PHOTO: Searra Inman has her arm raised in victory during a match this season. (Photo courtesy of the Niles Brandywine wrestling program.)
Six Members Elected to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 20, 2021
Elections were completed this week to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, with four members receiving re-election, another rejoining the Council after previously serving and a sixth being selected for the first time. All six were elected to two-year terms.
The four re-elected members ran unopposed. Marquette athletic director Alex Tiseo was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the Upper Peninsula. Gobles athletic director Chris Miller was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula, and Ottawa Lake Whiteford athletic director and football coach Jason Mensing was re-elected to continuing representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula. Jay Alexander, executive director of athletics for Detroit Public Schools Community District, was re-elected to continue representing Detroit Public Schools.
Boyne City athletic director and girls basketball coach Adam Stefanski was elected to represent junior high/middle schools. He previously served on the Council for one year while athletic director at Mackinaw City. Elected to the Council for the first time was Chelsea athletic director Brad Bush, who will fill one of two statewide at-large positions.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members 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 Council meets three times annually. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. Negaunee athletic director and football coach Paul Jacobson was elected to represent Class A and B schools, Ishpeming Westwood athletic director Jon Beckman was elected to represent Class C schools, and Ontonagon superintendent and principal Jim Bobula was elected to represent Class D schools.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.