BOTF X: Challenges Await 9 Semifinalists from Record-Tying Field
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 10, 2022
Congratulations, “Battle of the Fans X” semifinalists, for qualifying for this year’s “Challenge Round.” In doing so, you’ve already met and overcome a pair of significant challenges as you seek to show Michigan why your student section is the state’s best.
First, you’ve managed this despite COVID-19. Not much more explanation needed there.
Second, you’ve qualified from a record-tying number of applicants to advance and earn this opportunity.
Nine student cheering sections from MHSAA member schools have been selected from the first phase of BOTF X to take part in the “Challenge Round” as they vie for this year’s championship: Howell, Midland Dow and Traverse City West from Class A; Imlay City, Spring Lake and Yale from Class B; and Buchanan, North Muskegon and Petersburg Summerfield from Class C/D.
Battle of the Fans X, organized by MHSAA staff and its 16-member Student Advisory Council, kicked off by inviting schools to submit short videos, via TikTok, of their cheering sections in action by Jan. 8. The Advisory Council has selected nine semifinalists to accomplish a list of tasks showing off their sections over the next 12 days – and the Council will then select three finalists for MHSAA visits.
This year’s winner will be announced Feb. 18 and recognized March 25 during the MHSAA Boys Basketball Semifinals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
Semifinalists are required to complete up to 20 BOTF challenges and submit documentation via TikTok by 11 p.m. on Jan. 22. Five mandatory challenges focus on contest criteria: positive sportsmanship, student body participation, school spirit, originality of cheers, organization of the group, student section leadership and overall fun.
The list of challenges allows semifinalists opportunities to show the unique characteristics that make their sections elite. The full list of challenges can be found on the MHSAA Website.
“With limited attendance at games last year, students have been excited to get back to fields and gyms this year to support their classmates,” said Andy Frushour, MHSAA director of brand management and advisor to the Student Advisory Council. “We know this pandemic isn’t yet over, and student sections haven’t taken their attendance for granted. Every game is special, and student sections are excited to continue participation in this contest.
“Over the next two weeks, we’ll learn a lot about what these student sections bring to every game night.”
The Student Advisory Council will select the finalists for announcement Jan. 24 on Second Half. MHSAA staff and Student Advisory Council members will visit all three finalists for home basketball games during the second half of this regular season, with coverage and video from those visits and the announcement of the winner all to be published on Second Half.
The winner will be selected by another Advisory Council vote based in part on support each section receives on the MHSAA’s social media sites. All social media postings regarding Battle of the Fans X should include the hashtag #MHSAABOTF2022. The MHSAA will share semifinalists’ challenge TikToks over the next two weeks. The MHSAA also will post from the three finalists visits on those channels.
A record-tying 27 schools applied for this year’s contest, including 14 schools for the first time to bring the total to 119 member schools that have applied for the contest at least once over its 10-year existence.
Buchanan and Traverse City West both have applied eight times and will compete in the semifinals for the fourth-straight competition. Buchanan was the BOTF champion in 2013, 2018 and 2020, and West won in 2016. North Muskegon is a semifinalist for the second time after winning the BOTF title in 2019.
Petersburg Summerfield advanced to the semis for the third-straight time, while Yale advanced past the first round for the third time (and first since 2016). Imlay City advanced for the first time after three previous attempts, and Howell, Spring Lake, and Midland Dow are all first-time applicants.
“We’re basically in the ‘Regional’ round now if you compare this competition to our other tournaments,” Frushour said. “This group of nine is just getting warmed up as they prepare to make a run at reaching the ‘state finals.’ We’re excited to see the creativity and positivity of the nine semifinalists.”
The other first-time applicants were Carsonville-Port Sanilac, Detroit Catholic Central, Freeland, Grosse Pointe North, Okemos, Plymouth Christian Academy, Portage Central, Sanford Meridian, Spring Lake, Troy and Utica Eisenhower.
Click to view all applications on TikTok.
The contest is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, which promotes Michigan's locally-produced dairy products and nutrition education. Rules plus links to past years’ coverage of the contest can be found on the MHSAA's BOTF page.
The Student Advisory Council is made up of eight seniors and eight juniors who each serve two-year terms. The Council acts as the voice of Michigan's student-athletes; it serves as a student sounding board for the MHSAA's Representative Council, assists in planning Sportsmanship Summits, Captains Clinics and other student leadership events; participates in a yearly focus group about the state of high school sports for Michigan State University's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and assists with medal ceremonies at MHSAA championship events.
VIDEOS: Below, check out the videos from our visits to all of the first nine BOTF champions.
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.