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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-January 15, 2004
Contact: John Johnson, Randy Allen or Andy Frushour
517.332.5046 or www.mhsaa.com

Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists Announced

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 15 – The finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award for the 2003-04 school year have been announced.

The program, which has been recognizing student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year, honors 26 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, 2,525 applications were received from 428 schools.

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. Seventeen schools had two or more finalists this year. Marquette, St. Johns and Bloomfield Hills Lahser lead the way with three finalists; and Bath, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood, Grand Rapids Northview, Holt, Ishpeming Westwood, Kingsford, Monroe Jefferson, Muskegon Catholic Central, New Lothrop, Northville, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Riverview and Rockford each have two.

The applications were judged by a 70-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools, from which the 120 finalists and 26 scholarship recipients were selected. Fall sports scholarship recipients will be announced on February 3; winter sports recipients on February 10; and spring sports winners will be announced on February 17. To honor the 26 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 27.

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 show 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.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,200 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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MEDIA ADVISORY -- A complete list of scholarship nominees for the Scholar-Athlete Award can be found on the Services page MHSAA Web Site. Please scan that list for the names of student-athletes from your area. Information about 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 or e-mail the day before the public announcement. For more information about Farm Bureau Insurance, contact Luke Schafer, Public Relations Manager, at 517.323.7000. You can download the MHSAA’s Scholar-Athlete Award logo from the MHSAA Web Site – click on Forms & Graphics off the home page.

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2003-04 MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists

Girls Basketball
Sarah Beaubien, Monroe Jefferson
Marie Brenner, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Taylor Erwin, Fenton
Tiffany Jarois, Waterford Mott
Leah Knight, Martin
Katherine Loosvelt, Gibraltar Carlson
Sarah Stream, Ishpeming Westwood

Boys Cross Country
Kevin Kwiatkowski, Grosse Pointe North
Jason Mantey, Caro
Matt Rose, Bloomfield Hills Lahser
Ben Smith, Athens
Alex Tiseo, Marquette
Evan Williams, Delton Kellogg

Girls Cross Country
Nicole Bohnsack, Rockford
Sharon Button, Haslett
Lauren Dennisuk, Trenton
Angela Gaudette, Kingsford
Lyndsey Teller, Litchfield
Sarah Walls, Flint Kearsley

Football
Ted Beatty, Hartland
Brian Bisson, Escanaba
Allan Cozart, Detroit Mumford
Derek Dobias, Waterford Our Lady
Nathan Fitton, Potterville
Nathan Fritz, Bay City All Saints
Kyle James Haskell, Charlotte

Boys Golf
Eric Elmblad, Marquette
William Hanashiro, Flint Central
Angelo Karaboyas, Riverview
Kevin O'Brien, Battle Creek Lakeview
Jake Tornga, Hudsonville
Matthew Zitzman, Lake Orion

Girls Swimming & Diving
Kelly Robinson, Holt
Rebecca Sornson, Brighton
Magda Stawikowska, Livonia Churchill

Boys Soccer
Ryan Anderson, Grand Rapids Northview
Chris Bowen, Ithaca
Michael DuPuis, Charlevoix
Robert Ranney, Bloomfield Hills Lahser
Sam Stern, Ann Arbor Pioneer

Girls Tennis
Brooke Beier, St Clair
Courtney Engel, Richland Gull Lake
Eleanor Ford, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Monica Herman, Whitehall

Boys Basketball
Patrick Darga, Suttons Bay
Christopher Gentz, St. Clair Shores Lakeview
Scott Glaser, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Anthony Grech, Allen Park Cabrini
D.J. Mocini, Saugatuck
Wade Slavik, Fulton-Middleton
Kyle Way, Midland Bullock Creek

Boys Bowling
Daniel Case, Warren DeLaSalle
Zachery Olds, Traverse City Christian

Girls Bowling
Crystal Brownrigg, Freeland
Sarah Jaeger, Livonia Ladywood

Girls Competitive Cheer
Ariel Rebecca Haskins, Temperance Bedford
Courtney Kunik, Chesaning

Girls Gymnastics
Jacquelyn Jorgensen, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Desiree Lauricella, Jackson Northwest

Ice Hockey
Andrew Chima, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook- Kingswood
Josh Vehring, Hancock

Boys Skiing
Jordan Ostwald, Kingsford
Andrew Preston, Grand Rapids West Catholic

Girls Skiing
Miranda Olds, Fenton
Sherri Wiseman, Marquette

Boys Swimming & Diving
Charles McClure IV, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook- Kingswood
Bradley James Turek, Adrian
Jacob James Wendling, St. Johns

Girls Volleyball
Bridgett Blough, St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic
Juliana Burrows, Grosse Pointe South
Mallory Egolf, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg
Katie Marie Gilley, Kingston
Anna Nowak, Traverse City Central
Chayla Robles, Vermontville Maple Valley
Kati Therriault, Holly

Wrestling
Joshua V. Barlow, Saginaw Heritage
Brian O'Keefe, Muskegon Catholic Central
Jordan Schaefer, Canton Salem
Ciro Spigno, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
Bruce K. Wenzlick, New Lothrop

Baseball
Ryan Anderson, Grand Rapids Northview
Adam Emmenecker, Saginaw Arthur Hill
Brandon Larson, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
Adam Simon, Blanchard Montabella
Ryan Sontag, Monroe Jefferson
Jonathan Westerman, Gaylord St. Mary
Clarence P. Wynn, Detroit Cass Tech

Girls Golf
Lindsay Davis, Dexter
Carrie Jensen, Gladstone
Marie Snyder, Northville

Softball
Krystal Cameron, Jackson
Julie Chelovich, Bloomfield Hills Lahser
Alison Gunden, Harrison
Ashley Howard, Allen Park
Sharisa Petrowsky, Laingsburg
Jessica Ilene Rademacher, St. Johns
Elizabeth Rossiter, Bridgman

Girls Soccer
Elizabeth Kaminsky, Dearborn Heights Crestwood
Maddie Mohre, St. Johns
Anna Polasek, Vicksburg
Keren Stiebel, West Bloomfield Jewish Academy
Jessica Urban, Saginaw Nouvel

Boys Tennis
Chad Gerencer, Muskegon Catholic Central
Michael Goorhouse, Holland Christian
Angelo Karaboyas, Riverview
Derek Linkous, North Farmington

Boys Track & Field
Liam Boylan-Pett, Bath
William Hubbard, Dearborn Heights Annapolis
Zachary D. Labrecque, Battle Creek Harper Creek
Jonathan Rumohr, Ishpeming Westwood
Dustin Schanz, Allegan
Kal Ustishen, New Lothrop
Justin Wedes, Berkley

Girls Track & Field
Nicole Bohnsack, Rockford
Kacey Herman, Cheboygan
Ashley Jager, Imlay City
Kelly Jo Phillips, Kinde-North Huron
Kelly Robinson, Holt
Devon Rupley, Northville
Leah Tarrant, Bath

Farm Bureau Insurance and MEEMIC Insurance
are year-round MHSAA Corporate Partners