Contact: John Johnson or Andy Frushour
517.332.5046 or [email protected]
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 25 -- The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2010-11 school year have been announced.
The program, which has been recognizing student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year, will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a post-season tournament. Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Award, and will present a $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 512 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, 6 female and 6 male; 8 scholarships will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, 4 female and 4 male; 6 scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, 3 female and 3 male; and 4 scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, 2 female and 2 male. In addition, there will also be 2 at-large honorees which are also part of the general judging process, may come from any classification, and are designated by their school at the time of entry.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in their classification, and could have more than one finalist. Nineteen schools had two finalists this year: Battle Creek Harper Creek, Bay City Western, Birmingham Seaholm, Blissfield, Breckenridge, Byron Center, Chelsea, Dearborn Divine Child, Grosse Pointe North, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse, Hillsdale Academy, Holt, Kalamazoo Hackett, Potterville, Rockford, Saginaw Swan Valley, Sturgis, Three Rivers and Traverse City Central.
Multiple-sport participation continues to be the norm for this year’s applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.68, while the average of the application pool was 2.16. There are 70 three-plus sport participants in the finalist field. All but three of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors post-season tournaments are represented in the finalist field.
A school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in their classification. Of 448 schools which submitted applicants, 51 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,901 applications were received. All 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 at the following address: http://www.mhsaa.com/Schools/Students/MHSAAScholarAthleteAwardApplicants.aspx.
The applications were judged by a 62-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools, from which the 120 finalists were selected. The selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced on February 8; Class B scholarship recipients will be announced on February 15; and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced on February 22. 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 Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on March 26.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale), and have previously won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a post-season tournament. Students were also asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and submit a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance, one of Michigan's major insurers, has a statewide force of over 400 agents serving more than 380,000 Michigan policyholders. Besides providing life, home auto, farm, business and retirement insurance, the company also sponsors lifesaving, real-time Doppler weather tracking systems in several Michigan communities.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 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 approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.
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2010-11 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
Class A Boys
Matthew Hing, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Stuart Starkweather, Bay City Central
Ryan Haag, Bay City Western
Jesse James Metz, Bay City Western
Nicholas Landgraf, Berkley
Adam Ketai, Birmingham Groves
Sam Anderson, Birmingham Seaholm
Jeff Sattler, Byron Center
Justin Zachary Nance, Detroit U-D Jesuit
Eric Mowery, Fenton
T.J. VanSlooten, Grand Rapids Northview
James Arthur Guest, Grosse Pointe North
Erik Winnega, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse
Kenneth John Baker, Holland
Zachary Zott, Lake Orion
Austin Wissler, Marquette
Joseph Lautrup, Mattawan
Parker Millington, Milford
Tyler Day Jones, Owosso
Andrew D. Rademacher, Rockford
Daniel R. Adsit, Salem
Mackenzie Sovereign, Traverse City Central
Jack Stevens, Traverse City Central
Brandon Harnos, Wayne Memorial
Class A Girls
Annie-Norah Beveridge, Ann Arbor Huron
Sarah Pink, Auburn Hills Avondale
Jennifer Sliva, Battle Creek Lakeview
Megan Marie Smith, Birmingham Seaholm
Lindsay Marie Anderson, Byron Center
Emily Lindsay, Davison
Makenzie Frodle, Fraser
Megan Bergeron, Grosse Pointe North
Victoria Balogh, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse
Tara Lowe, Hartland
Jenna Mitchell, Holly
Devan Walworth, Holt
Kyla Walworth, Holt
Lauren McGlinn, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Megan McDonald, Livonia Churchill
Courtney Rouse, Midland
Jamie Sanderson, Midland Dow
Courtney Jenkins, Pinckney
Taylor Marie Birman, Plymouth
Laura Glass, Portage Northern
Abigail Blanchard, Rockford
Emerald Joiner, Saginaw Arthur Hill
Nicole Ozminkowski, Saline
Lauren Danielle Fitzpatrick, Warren Woods-Tower
Class B Boys
Bryce R. Brown, Allendale
Dominic Leoni, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
Trevor Blattner, Battle Creek Harper Creek
Taylor Rowe, Battle Creek Harper Creek
Gabriel B. Raymer, Caro
Daniel Thomas Ahrens, Carrollton
Patrick D. Roberts, Chelsea
Connor A. Townsend, Chelsea
Nicholas Posh, Dearborn Divine Child
Brandon Gregg, Edwardsburg
Nick Olesak, Gladstone
Matthew J. Moser, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Christian J. Balcer, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Andrew Buskirk, Paw Paw
Joseph Walbridge, Richland Gull Lake
Alex Farrington, Stevensville Lakeshore
Class B Girls
Cecelia M. Goulette, Armada
Caroline Shinkle, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
Carolinne Strasser, Dearborn Divine Child
Breanne Lesnar, Freeland
Lauren Brown, Grosse Ile
Molly Duda, Haslett
Kelsey K. Carney, Jackson Northwest
Erin Roney, Livonia Ladywood
Kelsey Blake, Portland
Jaymie L. Smith, Saginaw Swan Valley
Emilee Warner, Saginaw Swan Valley
Leigh Slater, St. Clair Shores South Lake
Ann Marie Arseneau, Sturgis
Bronte M. Stewart, Sturgis
Amy Newell, Three Rivers
Perri Weiderman, Three Rivers
Class C Boys
Jake Hutson, Blanchard Montabella
Eric R. Schmidt, Blissfield
Josh G. Bachleda, Bridgman
Alexander Varney, Cass City
Richard Gray Vreeland, Gobles
Edward Martin, Kalamazoo Hackett
Kyle Burkardt, Monroe St Mary Catholic Central
Collin A. Breit, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Sam Davis, Potterville
Noah Reyhl, Suttons Bay
Michael Thomas Elliott, Traverse City St. Francis
Casey Harvey, Vandercook Lake
Class C Girls
Zoe Brennan, Blissfield
Kirsten Case, Breckenridge
Rebecca Gulliver, Breckenridge
Katherine A. Carpenter, Bronson
Kari Burton, Brown City
Alyssa Chapman, Ishpeming Westwood
Margaret Pauline Grossa, Kalamazoo Hackett
Jenna Whipple, Potterville
Kaitlyn Sue Theisen, Saranac
CallyAnne Michelle Wyma, St Louis
Chelsey A. Ewald, Unionville-Sebewaing
Alexandra Spaulding, Watervliet
Class D Boys
Nathan Sobczak, Bay City All Saints
Scott Hoelsema, Byron Center Zion Christian
Sean Tighe, Caseville
Lukas Maki, Eben Junction Superior Central
Garrett Slavik, Fulton
Eric Anthony Lisznyai, Hillsdale Academy
Randall Timothy Moore, Marcellus Howardsville Christian
Garrison Glowniak, Marine City Cardinal Mooney
Class D Girls
Hannah Underwood, Bellaire
Erin V. Holmberg, Cooks Big Bay de Noc
Lindsey Anne Hufnagel, Fowler
Heather Lantis, Hillsdale Academy
Kelsie Lyn Blamer, Mio
Adrienne Thelen, Portland St Patrick
Abbey Marie Troy, Waterford Our Lady
Afton Elizabeth Eberly, Webberville