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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-January 15, 2002
Contact: John Johnson or Randy Allen
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Jan. 18 - The finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2001-02 school year have been announced.
The program, which has been recognizing student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year, honors 24 individuals, one in each sport in which the Association sponsors a post-season tournament. Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Award, and presents a $1,000 scholarship in each sport.

This year, 2,780 applications were received from 469 schools, the third-highest total ever. In addition, a record 1,328 student-athletes will be recognized for having met the eligibility criteria for the award, even though they were not a scholarship nominee from their school. All will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievements. The overall number of students recognized in this program this year is an all-time high of 4,108, topping the number of 4,062 during 1999-00.

Every MHSAA member high school is allowed to select one student-athlete to represent it in each sport, and an individual may be nominated and be a finalist in more than one sport. Fifteen schools had two or more finalists this year. Novi leads the way with four finalists; Dundee, Lansing Catholic Central and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central each have three finalists; and Battle Creek Pennfield, Birmingham Seaholm, Caro, Elk Rapids, Fairview, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, Hudsonville Unity Christian, Monroe Jefferson, Saginaw Heritage and St. Clair each have two.

The applications were judged by an 80-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools, from which the 114 finalists and 24 scholarship recipients were selected. Fall sports scholarship recipients will be announced on February 6; winter sports recipients on February on February 13; and spring sports winners will be announced on February 20. To honor the 24 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 23.

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 the sport in which they are applying. Students were also asked to shown involvement in other school and community activities, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

2001-02 MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists

Girls Basketball
Jamie Lynn Barbour, Dearborn Edsel Ford
Jennifer DeClerck, Warren Cousino
Jaime Fornetti, Kingsford
Sarah M. Hawley, Hart Lakeshore Public Academy
Amanda Lyon, Mesick
Andrea McNab, Saginaw Nouvel
Kacey Mohre, Charlotte

Boys Cross Country
Adam Benedict Chartier, Menominee
Armon Mahajerin, Saginaw Heritage
Kevin McCabe, Allen Park Cabrini
Joseph Person, Birmingham Seaholm
Timothy S. Sukta, Jackson Christian
Jeffrey Scott Weber, Grandville

Girls Cross Country
Genevieve Barrett, Battle Creek Pennfield
Angela Hiner, Monroe Jefferson
Katharina Obser, White Lake Lakeland
Jena M. Rokos, Spring Lake
Jane Catherine Stieber, Boyne City
Erin Walsh, Fenton

Football
Conrad Bird, Haslett
John Russell Chambers, Grosse Ile
Nicholas R. Erdman, Stevensville Lakeshore
Scott Andrew Kortlandt, Novi
Timothy Kareem Khoury, Cass City
Kyle Marc Kolbe, Clare
Michael Kelly Reed, Marquette

Boys Golf
Jesse Dixon, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Brian Hammer, Elk Rapids
Travis J. May, Battle Creek Pennfield
Robert C. Nyblad, Kent City
Corbin Tyler Swiastyn, Owendale-Gagetown
John Wright, Bloomfield Hills Lahser

Boys Soccer
Matthew A. Carey, Richland Gull Lake
Andrew S. Cavis, St. Clair
Bryan Flietstra, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Jeffrey G. Shumer, North Farmington

Girls Swimming & Diving
Sarah Gelwicks, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
Joanna Laethem, Caro
Lynn Pastor Visser, Jenison

Girls Tennis
Karyn Bartels, Kalamazoo Christian
Kristal Janne Fears, Detroit Renaissance
Noorain Fatima Khan, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Lindsey E. Moore, St. Clair

Boys Basketball
Matthew R. Elsey, Farmington Hills Harrison
Bryan Flietstra, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Ryan Darrell Kaminski, Midland Bullock Creek
Erik Lehmann, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
Jeffrey Lance Rhoads, Fairview
David Michael Smith, Gaylord St. Mary
Ryan T. Williams, Plymouth Salem

Girls Competitive Cheer
Lauren Marie Kohler, Pontiac Notre Dame
Laura Riebschleger, Houghton Lake

Girls Gymnastics
Rosalie Claire Blank, Rochester
Kim Le, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer

Ice Hockey
Cameron Dingwall, Mattawan
Michael Sachau, Lansing Catholic Central

Boys Skiing
David Boboltz, Rockford
Matt Gotham, Ironwood

Girls Skiing
Sally Engler, Mt. Pleasant
Nicole Murch, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern

Boys Swimming & Diving
Corey R. Kanitz, Dundee
Brian Murphy, Birmingham Hills Brother Rice
Steven Jay Rozema, Holland Christian

Girls Volleyball
Megan J. Angerer, Dundee
Sunny Dalgord, Cooks Big Bay deNoc
Melissa Gallego, Romeo
Abby Lund, Shelby
Suzanne McGoey, Grosse Pointe Woods Univ. Liggett
Katherine E. Rich, Battle Creek Lakeview
Jenna Wilkes, Alma

Wrestling
Feng Pei Du, Saginaw Heritage
Matthew Oliver Harsha-Strong, Novi
Justin Langlois, Muskegon Mona Shores
Scott M. Miller, Dundee
Joe Sacksteder, Mendon

Baseball
Steven Michael Bailey, Peck
Blake Michael Britten, Sterling Heights
Shane Patrick Duba, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Joshua A. Latz, Ovid-Elsie
David Madigan, Redford Thurston
Matthew Glen Pridgeon, Reading
Douglas Mark Richley, Manistee Catholic Central

Girls Golf
Lauren Elizabeth Grzanka, G. Rapids Forest Hills Central
Christine M. Heath, Birmingham Seaholm
Julie Pollock, Midland

Girls Soccer
Julie Daniel, Saline
Sarah Gelwicks, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
Kelly Hackney, Lansing Catholic Central
Rachel Weller, Grandville Calvin Christian

Softball
Brienna Alger, Shepherd
Sarah Bagierek, Saugatuck
Randin L. Brown, Farmington
Maggie Dillon, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett
Kara Francisco, Elk Rapids
Kalee Iacoangeli, Monroe Jefferson
Allyson Leigh Neuman, Caro

Boys Tennis
Charles Andrew Bassett II, Grand Haven
Alan Chu, Ann Arbor Huron
Andrew Moon, Flint Powers Catholic
T.J. Warschefsky, Okemos

Boys Track & Field
Ryan W. Gall, Livonia Churchill
Adam William Hellebuyck, Bay City Central
Scott Andrew Kortlandt, Novi
Jeffrey Lance Rhoads, Fairview
Michael Sachau, Lansing Catholic Central
Bryce David Slavik, Fulton Middleton
Kyle Williams, Delton Kellogg

Girls Track & Field
Holly Beckers, Allegan
Nora Rose Cooper-Surma, Ludington
Rachel Hooey, Litchfield
Dayna Jean Kasza, Kalkaska
Bethany Kittle, Novi
Cassidy Lee Volek, Birch Run
Chelsea Wininger, Taylor Kennedy

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, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

MEDIA ADVISORY -- A complete list of scholarship nominees and additional qualifiers for the Scholar-Athlete Award can be found on the MHSAA Web Site. Please scan that list for the names of student-athletes from your area. Information about finalists and scholarship recipients will be posted on the MHSAA Web Site according to the schedule listed in this release, and media in the markets of the scholarship recipients will be notified by fax the day before the public announcement.

Farm Bureau Insurance is a year-round MHSAA Corporate Partner