Rep Council Wrap-Up: Winter 2017
April 1, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
To accommodate an increasing number of member schools moving to 8-player football, while continuing to provide a championship opportunity for schools with the smallest enrollments, the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association approved the addition of a second division to the 8-Player Football Playoffs among multiple actions taken during its annual Winter Meeting on March 24 in East Lansing.
A total of 60 Class D schools have declared so far they will sponsor 8-player varsity football teams this fall, a 20-percent increase in tournament-eligible teams from last season (only Class D schools currently are eligible for the MHSAA tournament in this sport). The Council voted to expand the 8-player tournament to two four-week, 16-team brackets, with schools divided based on enrollment. Since its first season of MHSAA tournament sponsorship in 2011, 8-player football has finished with one 16-team playoff.
The two-division, four-week format provides the smallest MHSAA member schools a shorter tournament involving schools with a smaller difference in enrollment, both of which may enhance participant health and safety. The championships games will occur the weekend before Thanksgiving. Qualification criteria, enrollment limits and MHSAA Finals venues will be discussed at the Council’s Spring Meeting, May 7-8.
The Council also discussed venue possibilities for future wrestling and basketball Finals rounds, with sites for the 2017-18 school year to be selected not later than the Spring Meeting. The Basketball Finals, played the last many seasons at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center for both girls and boys, would have with their currently-scheduled dates one or the other in conflict in future seasons with Breslin’s potential opportunity to host NCAA Tournament first and second-round games for MSU’s women’s basketball team. The Council will review proposals for hosting the Basketball Finals at the Spring Meeting, and also consider the possibility of altering schedules for the tournaments to accommodate venue availability.
The MHSAA Wrestling Finals have been conducted for the team tournament the last two years at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, while the individual tournament has finished the last 15 seasons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The contract with McGuirk Arena ended with this winter’s tournament, and with the future of The Palace uncertain, the MHSAA is considering options for moving that event as well.
The Council also approved a recommendation from the MHSAA Baseball/Softball Committee to classify those two sports independently beginning with the 2017-18 school year. Currently, schools are placed in the same divisions for both sports, and also play in the same tournament groupings for both. This action allows for the sports to be organized separately, and came in response to fewer schools sponsoring both baseball and softball teams, which has led to Districts with uneven numbers of teams (more for softball at a particular site than for baseball, or vice versa).
Also in football, the Council approved a Football Committee recommendation that the MHSAA seek permission from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) to continue to experiment with a 40-second clock for use between plays. Teams taking part in the experiment will have 40 seconds from the end of the previous play to snap the ball to begin the next, unless there is an administrative stoppage (for penalty, measurement, etc.). MHSAA schools began experimenting with the 40-second clock during the 2016 season.
In addition to sport matters, the Council discussed a paper prepared by the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports entitled “Gender Differences in Youth Sport Concussion.” The paper delved into findings by the MHSAA during its 2015-16 concussion reporting that showed a greater number of reports of concussions for females than males in the same sport (for example, basketball and soccer). The MHSAA’s findings, and the Institute’s comparisons with findings of other organizations and researchers, will be used to help shape MHSAA services and support to school sports.
The Representative Council is the 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 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.
2019 Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 22, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2018-19 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 30th 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, 768 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. Detroit Catholic Central has four finalists this year while Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, Northville and St. Joseph each have three. Twelve schools each have two finalists: Ann Arbor Pioneer, Big Rapids, Davison, Fenton, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Grosse Pointe South, Marlette, Novi, Okemos, Saranac, Traverse City Central and White Lake Lakeland.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.4. There are 77 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 418 schools which submitted applicants, 30 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,645 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 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. 5, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 12 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 19. 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 Class C Boys Basketball Final, March 16, 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.
2018-19 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
BOYS CLASS A
Colin Czajkowski, Brownstown Woodhaven
David DeBacker, Detroit Catholic Central
Joseph Hardenbergh, Detroit Catholic Central
Keegan Koehler, Detroit Catholic Central
Ryan Marra, Detroit Catholic Central
Jack Killian, Fenton
Noah Stout, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Ryan Downey, Grosse Pointe South
Michael Willard, Grosse Pointe South
Samuel Martens, Holland
Carson Currie, Lapeer
Noah Kinnucan, Muskegon Mona Shores
Daniel McLaughlin, Northville
Matthew George, Novi
Trey Mullins, Novi
Carson Krumm, Okemos
Harrison Poeszat, Orchard Lake St. Mary's
Parker Raymond, Rochester Adams
Nolan Rich, St. Joseph
Edward Roe, Traverse City Central
Michael Song, Troy
John Tisch, Utica
Trent Farquhar, White Lake Lakeland
Avery Robinson, Wyoming
GIRLS CLASS A
Anna Scott, Ann Arbor Huron
Alexa Easter, Ann Arbor Pioneer
EmJ Rennich, Ann Arbor Pioneer
McKenna Evans, Battle Creek Lakeview
Ariella Cuellar, Bay City Central
Emily Moriartey, Davison
Ellie Timmons, Davison
Audrey Whiteside, East Grand Rapids
Chloe Idoni, Fenton
Lexi Loehfelm, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Adele Kemp, Greenville
Addison Irish, Hudsonville
Maya Albright, Midland
Mariella Simoncini, Northville
Claire Wan, Northville
Alma Cooper, Okemos
Yveloute Rea, Petoskey
Elizabeth Bulat, Rochester
Megan Corbe, St. Joseph
Cailey Rooker, St. Joseph
Jade Turner, Traverse City Central
Madeline Purvis, Troy Athens
Madeline Rehm, White Lake Lakeland
Megan Morehouse, Zeeland East
BOYS CLASS B
Sam Bussler, Battle Creek Harper Creek
Pierce Morrissey, Big Rapids
Clark Doman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Justin Luo, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Alex Netzley, Cadillac
Noah Doederlein, Carleton Airport
Adam Bruce, Gladstone
Jack Perry, Michigan Center
Connor Swinehart, Newaygo
Michael Gormley, North Branch
Isaac Waffle, Olivet
Tommee Smith, Sparta
Cooper Clark, Stevensville Lakeshore
Dillon Mochty, Tawas
Dylan Day, Tecumseh
Ethan McKenzie, Whitehall
GIRLS CLASS B
Kamryn Cushway, Big Rapids
Salena Prakah-Asante, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Eleri Giem, Boyne City
Lauren Anderson, Charlotte
Olivia Haring, Clare
Daisy Ansel, Comstock
Sarah Bidgood, Comstock Park
Chloe Bartz, Edwardsburg
Zoe Neirink, Frankenmuth
Bridget Kohane, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Dana Wila, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Lindsey Jurecki, Grosse Ile
Robin LeFevere, Imlay City
Sophie Moccio, Milan
Emily Unger, Montague
Mallory Kean, Yale
BOYS CLASS C
Trey Feldeisen, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Brian Goetz, Blissfield
Timothy Marvin, Byron
Noah Waldron, Concord
Jared Swiontek, East Jackson
Alexander VanDeWeghe, Ithaca
Jack Sumners, Marcellus
Logan Marshall, Marlette
Logan Solgat, Marlette
Dane Smitz, Roscommon
Drew Ward, Saranac
Nathan Huizar, Vassar
GIRLS CLASS C
Sarah Barnes, Houghton Lake
Precious Delos Santos, Indian River Inland Lakes
Riley Poupore, Iron Mountain
Lauren Freeland, Kent City
Megan Dopheide, Lawton
Elizabeth O'Hotzke, Manchester
Joslyn Muth, Manistique
Rachel Allen, Mason County Central
Jordan Cooper, Saranac
Thea Johnson, Saugatuck
Lillian Bambacht, Union City
Jordan Craven, Whitmore Lake
BOYS CLASS D
Jake Lane, Climax-Scotts
Brendan LeClaire, Dollar Bay
William Newbold, Frankfort
John Slivka, Manistee Catholic Central
Ryan Yahner, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
Noah Krepostman, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Brendan Zeien, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Brandon Scheurer, Portland St. Patrick
GIRLS CLASS D
Keagan Fischer, Bellaire
Lyndsi Wolfe, Fulton
Natalie Woodland, Lansing Christian
Samantha Somers, Mackinaw City
Scout Nelson, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Abbey Bullis, Peck
Jessie Rieth, Three Oaks River Valley
Julia Diskin, West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy