Rep Council Wrap-Up: Winter 2018
March 28, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
With a number of important topics filling the agenda for its Spring Meeting this May, the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association prepared for a number of possible votes by receiving and requesting additional information during its annual Winter Meeting on March 23 in East Lansing.
The Winter Meeting frequently serves as an opportunity for the Council to discuss items expected to come up for action at its final meeting of the school year, scheduled for May 6-7. Since June of 2017, the MHSAA has been pushing several projects forward – with work on the transfer rule and junior high/middle school sports receiving the most emphasis.
Addressing the chronically troubling nature of transfers in school sports, the MHSAA has facilitated nine months of discussions with leagues and administrative groups across the state to develop a proposal that would make the transfer rule sport-specific – that is, a rule that bases current eligibility on the sports an athlete has participated in in the past. The proposed new rule would make transferring students ineligible at a new school in the sports they played the previous year at their old school. However, transfer students would be immediately eligible in any sport they didn’t participate in the previous school year. A list of exceptions, including a change of residence, would still allow for transferring students to become eligible in all sports.
The Council discussed how support for this potential transfer rule change has grown, and suggested the MHSAA send further explanation of the proposal to school superintendents and principals before the meeting in May.
“Since last summer, there has been membership-wide discussion of proposals that pursue the elusive goal of adopting a transfer rule that is simpler and easier to understand and, therefore, more consistently enforced,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “There appears to be broad consensus that we are on the right path.
“If adopted by the Council in May, the full effect of the changes would not be felt until the 2019-20 school year. What sports are actually played by a student during 2018-19 would determine that student’s eligibility after a transfer for 2019-20.”
The Council also is continuing work on a number of efforts related to the MHSAA’s growing presence at the junior high and middle school level. Under consideration is a proposal increasing the number of contests permitted within the maximum 13-week seasons for several sports, and another proposal relaxing or eliminating the Limited Team Membership regulation for most sports at that level. The Council also is considering expanding the MHSAA’s role as a presenting sponsor at events involving junior high/middle school students.
MHSAA membership at the junior high/middle school level has increased by more than 100 schools – nearly 14 percent – and nearly 70 percent of 800 member junior high/middle schools have begun accommodating 6th-graders in their programs since the MHSAA’s Constitution was amended in 2015 to allow 6th-graders to be included.
“The emphasis on policies and programs related to 6th-, 7th- and 8th-graders is essential if sports at the high school level will remain relevant to students and useful to schools which are trying to engage youth in 21st-century learning,” Roberts said. “We’ve also put many policies under a microscope to see if they can be modified to respond to our customers’ desires for more competition at the 6th- through 8th-grade levels while remaining faithful to our mission of providing these younger student-athletes the opportunity to sample sports and develop new interests and skills.”
A number of other topics were discussed during the Winter Meeting in advance of actions that could take place in May or at the Council’s Fall Meeting in December:
• The Council is considering two leading options for setting the girls and boys basketball regular-season and MHSAA tournament schedules after the 2018-19 season. For 2018-19, for the first time, the boys and girls seasons will flip start and end dates, with the boys starting and ending their season first. This will be done to adjust to the availability of Michigan State University’s Breslin Center to host the boys Semifinals and Finals. For 2018-19, no other arena available is large enough to accommodate the crowd that traditionally attends the final games of the boys postseason.
One option for 2019-20 and possibly beyond includes continuing the current strategy of using multiple sites for Semifinals and Finals weekends while accommodating Breslin (or another largest arena’s) availability – for example, this year’s Boys Semifinals and Finals were played at Breslin, while the Girls Semifinals and Finals were played at Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena because Breslin was not available for the girls weekend. (Breslin and Van Noord will be used for the 2019 Semifinals and Finals weekends as well, again to accommodate Breslin’s availability.) The second option would put the girls and boys tournament schedules over the same three-week period and use the largest available arena to host games on only two days; Semifinals would be played at various sites for both genders, with all four girls and boys championship games played at the largest arena during one weekend.
• Also in girls and boys basketball, the Council will consider possibilities for seeding the top two teams in geographically-determined Districts. MHSAA staff have created plans for possible implementation as requested by the Council at its May 2017 meeting.
• In football, the Council is considering options to assist 8-player football schools with their regular-season scheduling.
“While transfers and junior high/middle school programs are fundamentally more important than single sport issues, we have an eye on several that will generate significant interest,” Roberts said. “Schools which sponsor 8-player football will be receiving plans to assist their scheduling of regular-season games, and they will be asked to provide reactions through an online survey during April.
“Basketball continues to have two issues which have more public interest than genuine importance. One – the boys and girls tournament schedule and championship venue after 2019 – is moving toward a vote in December. The other – limited seeding of boys and girls District tournaments – is scheduled for action in May.”
The Council also talked about ways of involving more junior high/middle school students and at more grade levels, and what possible new high school sports might draw students with a wider variety of interests and abilities. There also was discussion on how eligibility and transfer rules are applied to boarding school students and what modifications would promote competitive equity between boarding schools and both public and nonpublic schools.
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 1,500 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 2023-24 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2024
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2023-24 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 35th 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, 928 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. Ann Arbor Greenhills, Birmingham Seaholm, East Grand Rapids, Manistee and Midland Dow have three finalists this year. Seven schools have two finalists: Beal City, Britton Deerfield, Dearborn, Mason, Northville, Oxford, and Traverse City West.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.88. 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 445 schools which submitted applicants, 28 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,607 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. 6, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 13 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 20. 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.
2023-24 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Yan Yee Adler, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Bella Adams, Battle Creek Lakeview
Katherine Slazinski, Birmingham Seaholm
Aya Moughni, Dearborn
Sam M. Peot, East Grand Rapids
Julia Holt, Farmington Hills Mercy
Tori Briggs, Fowlerville
Arianna Pate, Gibraltar Carlson
Cameron Herman, Hartland
Brooke Pedersen, Holland West Ottawa
Ella Chatfield, Jenison
Meghan Ford, Mason
Lauren VanSumeren, Midland Dow
Addison Raffle, Northville
Ella Boyd, Oxford
Abigail DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Anna Lassan, South Lyon East
Lily Sackrider, St. Johns
Cecilia Ruchti, St. Joseph
Addison Booher, Traverse City Central
Ava King, Traverse City West
London Williams, Trenton
Sarah Fromm, Utica
Ryah Dewey, Walled Lake Western
BOYS CLASS A
Viraj Nautiyal, Birmingham Seaholm
Dylan Shoresh, Birmingham Seaholm
Charles Howell, Cadillac
Erik Giedeman, Dearborn
Joseph Stachelek, Detroit U-D Jesuit
Charlie Lentz, East Grand Rapids
Charlie Seufert, East Grand Rapids
Chris Piwowarczyk, Fenton
TJ Silvernale, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Jack Ryan, Grosse Pointe South
Jaden Reji, Livonia Churchill
Connor Curtis, Livonia Stevenson
Austin Martel, Mason
Jonathan Song, Midland Dow
Logan Yu, Midland Dow
Jaxson Whitaker, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Kyle Brown, Northville
Sean Wilson, Oxford
Anirudh Krishnan, Plymouth
Abrar Hossen, Portage Central
Andrew Miller, Saline
Jack Carlisle, Stevensville Lakeshore
Willem Howard Anthony DeGood, Traverse City West
Vansh Jvalit Baxi, Troy Athens
GIRLS CLASS B
Elaine Gordon, Adrian
Navya Ashok, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Anika Bery, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Hannah Herman, Buchanan
Gwenyth L. Geiger, Caro
Reese Herioux, Gladstone
Julie Ashbaugh, Grant
Grace deWaalMalefyt, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Megan Marta, Ishpeming Westwood
Addison Rutter, Kingsford
Libby McCarthy, Manistee
Cecilia Postma, Manistee
Malena Johnson, Marshall
Katelyn Baney, Paw Paw
Malia Thelen, Portland
Isabella DeWildt, Sault Ste. Marie
BOYS CLASS B
Angelo Ciarelli, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Lucas Nor, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Austin Hinkley, Big Rapids
Logan Cripps, Brooklyn Columbia Central
Jackson Dell, Chelsea
William E. Ribby, Eaton Rapids
Logan Lipka, Frankenmuth
Charles Lindemann, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Ben Sytsma, Grand Rapids Christian
Stephen Petersen, Hillsdale
Michael Stout, Howard City Tri County
Anthony Mariotti Goatley, Madison Heights Lamphere
Braydon Sorenson, Manistee
Ethan Chambliss, Niles
Aiden Roulo, St. Clair
Oliver Brown, Williamston
GIRLS CLASS C
Mikaela Ann Boyle, Bad Axe
Kylie Ott, Bridgman
Allison Bowles, Clinton
Jaida Schulte, Elk Rapids
Lauren Borsenik, Hemlock
Mariah Thompson, Houghton Lake
Lola Korpi, Ishpeming
Alexis Ewing, Jonesville
Adilyn Anne Ruggles, Marlette
Sara Dammann, New Lothrop
Brooke Spitzley, Pewamo-Westphalia
Claire Neumann, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
BOYS CLASS C
Carter Upper, Alcona
Payton Butkovich, Beal City
Jamisen Latham, Beal City
Tristan B. Harbaugh, Gobles
Niko Burgoon, Iron Mountain
Kannon Duffing, Manchester
Brad H. McNeill, Montrose
Jack Lantz, New Buffalo
Ryin Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Benjamin March, St. Louis
Julian Ahluwalia, Traverse City St. Francis
Landen Muska, Vassar
GIRLS CLASS D
Makenzee Grimm, Battle Creek St. Philip
Alivia Salenbien, Britton Deerfield
Alayna Salenbien, Britton Deerfield
Caroline Beggs, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Rachel Case, Kimball New Life Christian
Mallory Lowe, Leland
Bonnie Kiger, Marion
Hazel Hysell, St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic
BOYS CLASS D
Samuel Wallace Lutz, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Jürgen Griswold, Ellsworth
Christian Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek
Trenton Taratuta, Hillman
Ridley Fast, Hillsdale Academy
Ben McCaw, Lawrence
Nathan Mihills, Marcellus
Clayton Shoup, Mason County Eastern
PHOTO Scholar-Athlete Award medals are ready for presentation during the 2023 ceremony at Breslin Center.