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. -0- 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. RL04-052 2003-04 MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists Girls
Basketball Boys
Cross Country Girls
Cross Country Football Boys
Golf Girls
Swimming & Diving Boys
Soccer Girls
Tennis Boys
Basketball Boys
Bowling Girls
Bowling Girls
Competitive Cheer Girls
Gymnastics Ice
Hockey Boys
Skiing Girls
Skiing Boys
Swimming & Diving Girls
Volleyball Wrestling Baseball Girls
Golf Softball Girls
Soccer Boys
Tennis Boys
Track & Field Girls
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