EAST LANSING, Mich. - Feb. 6 - The Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award program has selected its eight scholarship recipients for the 2000 fall sports season. Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 12th year of sponsoring the award, will give a $1,000 college scholarship to each of the eight fall sports winners, the first of 24 total scholarships to be presented, one for each sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored at halftime ceremonies of the Class C Boys Basketball final game at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on March 24. Commemorative plaques will be given to other finalists in recognition of their accomplishments. The eight Scholar-Athlete Award honorees for
the 2000 fall sports season are: Becky A. Stepp, Waterford Kettering,
girls basketball; Tom Hakim, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley,
boys cross country; Karen Elizabeth Latus, New Buffalo, girls
cross country; Kevin Christopher Cleary, Grosse Pointe North,
football; Jack McKinnon, St Ignace, boys golf; Robert Ross Coleman,
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, boys soccer; Kathryn Ladewski,
Ann Arbor Pioneer, girls swimming & diving; Priya Malviya,
Holland, girls tennis.
Essay Quote - "Sportsmanship is very significant in all elements of life. However, it should always be maintained in the environment of a sporting event, especially at one sponsored by a school. Sportsmanship teaches players and coaches to be respectful in a difficult time and hold ones composure at all times."
Essay Quote - "Sportsmanship is extended outside of educational athletics and into the real world. That is why sportsmanship within athletics is so important. All the components of sportsmanship are equally important in life, and athletics gives individuals the chance to develop their sportsmanship skills."
Essay Quote - "One vital role of sportsmanship is to help athletes persevere through setbacks and failure. During my senior cross country season, I struggled with injuries, and in one race I had to walk from the two mile mark to the finish As girls passed me, however, every single runner encouraged me. I heard again and again: 'You're almost there!' 'Keep going!' 'You can finish this!' Their support turned a disastrous race into a wonderful memory. "
Essay Quote - "Sportsmanship is experienced. It is the feeling one knows from making a sacrifice for your team's best interests. It is respecting your opponent, and knowing they respect you, It is a feeling of genuine gratitude for the opportunity to play. It is graciousness in victory or defeat."
Essay Quote - "The show of sportsmanship ranges from shaking hands and introducing oneself to extending that hand to a fallen opponent. It encompasses abiding by the rules even if one could get away with cheating or bending the rules a bit. These aspects of sportsmanship are vital in educational athletics because they not only build character, but also develop the attitude of respect and how to show this respect to competitors in the fun world of high school athletics."
Essay Quote - "Every practice and every game, I realize that my positive attitude and good sportsmanship possess the ability to affect everyone on the field. No matter what the situation is, I make a conscious effort to display the utmost respect to everyone, from my opposition, to the fans and the referees. At any given moment, someone might be looking to me for leadership, and to see how I react. I am always representing my school, and most importantly, I am representing myself."
Essay Quote - "Very few high school athletes will go on to compete in the professional sports arena; most will not even play in college. Therefore, sports must teach something that applies to everyday life -- this is sportsmanship, ethics on the playing field I will be interacting with others long after I can no longer swim the length of a pool; what I have learned through swimming about respect is what will remain with me for the rest of my life."
Essay Quote - "In today's society, it is often stressed that winning is the most important aspect of competition. What many fail to realize is that winning would be of no value without earning it through fair and friendly competition. Good sportsmanship not only promotes great competition, but it also builds character and essentially defines the true meaning of athletic competitions." Other fall finalists by sport for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Girls Basketball -- Jessica Reidy, Suttons Bay; Danielle Kowalski, Riverview; Holli Cooper, Cass City; Jessica Monroe, Brethren; Kristin Cullen, Hartland; Adrianna Nebedum, Muskegon. Boys Cross Country -- Michael Grammes, Tecumseh; Martin Robinson, Newberry; Matthew Thome, Hesperia; Kurt Sarsfield, Plymouth Salem; Christopher Hausbeck, Bridgeport. Girls Cross Country -- Camille Ceravolo, Warren Mott; Carolyn Adamson, Big Rapids; Anna Moniodis, Plymouth Salem; Megan Elizabeth Dana, Saginaw Heritage; Caryn Elaine Waterson, Benzie Central. Football -- James Klein, Onsted; William D. Peterson, Cadillac; Kevin Christopher Cleary, Grosse Pointe North; Zachary Walsh, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse; Alan Montgomery, Big Rapids; Jared Stasik, Frankenmuth; Jack Klunder, Hopkins. Boys Golf -- Stephen Gisel, Midland Bullock Creek; Jerrod Braman, Stanton Central Montcalm; Brian Burt, Vermontville Maple Valley; Todd Goshorn, Wyandotte Roosevelt; Michael Lusardi, Troy Athens. Boys Soccer -- Adam Burns, Grosse Pointe North; Ross Ramsey, Harbor Beach; Scott Grant, Bloomfield Hills Lahser. Girls Swimming & Diving -- Molly Gannon, Flushing; Seija Alasimi, Negaunee. Girls Tennis -- Christine Marie Brooks, Grosse Pointe North; Kate MacIntosh, Traverse City Central; Joyce Chung, North Farmington. Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average, and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics. Winter sport scholarship recipients will be announced on Feb. 13, and spring sports honorees will be announced on Feb. 20. The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,300 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 conducted in 12 sports for girls and 12 sports for boys which attract approximately 1.3 million spectators each year. RL01-045 Farm Bureau Insurance & Little Caesars Pizza are year-round MHSAA Corporate Partners |