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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --January 29, 1999
Contact: John Johnson or Mike Clifford-- 517.332.5046

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Jan. 29 -- The 112 finalists for the 1998-99 Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award have been chosen. The finalists are vying for 24 $1,000 scholarships, one in each sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. The Scholar-Athlete Award was created in 1988 and is underwritten by Farm Bureau Insurance.

A record 504 schools submittted 2,784 applications for this year's award, nearly equalling last year's record total of 2,785 applications. In addition, the number of schools participating exceeded last year's record of 501.

Every MHSAA member high school is allowed to select one student-athlete to represent it in each sport, and an individual may be nominated in more than one sport. 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 applications were judged by a 58-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Fall sports scholarship recipients will be announced on Feb. 10; winter sports recipients on Feb. 17; and spring sports winners will be announced on Feb. 24.

To honor the 24 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony will take place during halftime of the Class C Boys Basketball Final at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing on March 27.

Girls Basketball
Laura Winkel, Manistique
Anne LaTarte, Saginaw Nouvel
Laura F. Hall, Center Line St. Clement
Simone Cook, Detroit Renaissance
Julie Ervin, Howell
Kathi Grotenhuis, Hamilton
Kari Wieber, St. Johns

Boys Cross Country
William John Farmer, Grosse Pointe North
Jacob Young, Gaylord
Nathaniel A. Sowa, Marlette
James Michael Shehadi, Sterling Heights
Christopher Jaskot, Livonia Franklin
Mark Winebrenner, Coldwater
Kevin Pline, St. Johns

Girls Cross Country
Melissa Renee Gritter, Elk Rapids
Laurie Vance, Saginaw Heritage
Rachel Brown, Port Huron Northern
Katie A. Sherron, Livonia Stevenson
Anne B. Richtmyer, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Kelly Johnson, Kent City

Football
John R. Scherer, Cedarville
Sean O'Neill, Flint Powers Catholic
Phillip J. Dabrowski, Warren Woods Tower
D'Juan O'Donald, Detroit Renaissance
Robert Glen Currey, Fowlerville
Michael J. Petrauskas, Grandville
David Simpson, Central Montcalm

Boys Golf
Craig Kuenzer, Brethren
John D. Sivey, Merrill
Kevin H. Smith, Oxford
Jeffrey David Yentz, Ann Arbor Huron
Jordan L. Crandall, Dowagiac

Boys Soccer
Adam Jordan Kimple, Holland West Ottawa
Matthew Watkins, Highland Milford
Timothy J. Pruzinsky, East Detroit
Stosh Randall Mintek, Allegan

Girls Swimming & Diving
Jenna Burtch, Holland
Katharine Sophiea, Ferndale
Deborah J. Hopkins, Monroe

Girls Tennis
Bomy Hong, Jenison
Jamie M. Rifenburgh, Bronson
Renee Stoller, Birmingham Marian
Amy Patel, Brownstown Woodhaven

Boys Basketball
Steven Mark Anderson, Iron Mountain North Dickinson
Nathaniel A. Sowa, Marlette
Benjamin K. Chelovich, Bloomfield Hills Lahser
Robert J. Shusteric, Riverview
Joshua James Crumley, Monroe St. Mary
Joe Bagierek, Saugatuck
Daniel Robert Lanning, Manton

Competitive Cheer
Megan Leigh Glazier, Merrill
Erica Marie Czaja, Temperance Bedford

Girls Gymnastics
Lyndsey B. Vitek, St. Johns
Andrea O'Boyle, Grosse Pointe North

Ice Hockey
Justin Barnes, Midland
Jay Desai, Bloomfield Hills Andover

Boys Skiing
Alexander Theodore Carroll, Roscommon
Ryan Christopher Withrow, Highland Milford

Girls Skiing
Jennifer R. Steele, Clare
Michaele Nye, Howell

Boys Swimming & Diving
Jason Peter Wagenmaker, Hudsonville Unity Christian
Matthew B. Watson, Bloomfield Hills Andover
Justin C. Bosley, Grosse Pointe South

Girls Volleyball
Erin A. Jury, Houghton Lake
Emily E. Engel, Bay City Central
Jocelyn Frank, Bloomfield Hills Andover
Katherine Ruth, Dearborn Divine Child
Amber Simon, Pewamo-Westphalia
Abby N. Baker, Mendon
Andrea Fox, Muskegon Mona Shores

Wrestling
Peter J. Hrodey, Traverse City Central
Adam Baske, St. Joseph
Nicholas Lee Atwood, Leslie
Gerald Kozak, Utica Eisenhower
Richard C. Rank, Algonac

Baseball
Jeremy Robert Gies, AuGres-Sims
Nathaniel A. Sowa, Marlette
Spencer Hynes, Clarkston
Kevin Messacar, Grosse Pointe South
Nelson Bowers, Jackson
Michael J. Petrauskas, Grandville
Joseph L. Miller, Bath

Girls Golf
Chrystina Lynne Russell, Muskegon Mona Shores
Jennifer Susan Borowiec, Farmington Hills Mercy

Girls Soccer
Leslie Ann Barnhart, Ogemaw Heights
Adrienne A. Nassar, Sterling Heights
Carrie Peterson, Vicksburg

Softball
Heidi Wickstrom, Bellaire
Sarah Elizabeth DiPonio, Morrice
Nicole Mukavetz, Highland Milford
Emily R. Williams, Redford Union
Jamie M. Rifenburgh, Bronson
Kathi Grotenhuis, Hamilton
Katie Lee McCune, St. Louis

Boys Tennis
Milton E. Geiger, Croswell-Lexington
Jeffrey G. Lee, Bloomfield Hills Lahser
Aashish Shah, Brownstown Woodhaven
Chad Carlson, Holland

Boys Track & Field
David J. Siik, Negaunee
Ryan D. Siemen, Harbor Beach
Douglas H. Anderson, New Baltimore Anchor Bay
William John Farmer, Grosse Pointe North
Shaun Tahir Cheema, Dundee
Justin Olk, Kent City
Mark Joseph Pietka, Ludington

Girls Track & Field
Tara Reddinger, Kingsford
Jody Ann Scheffler, Birch Run
Carol Evola, Pontiac Notre Dame
Christina Dzingle, Dearborn Divine Child
Rebecca Dugopolski, Grand Ledge
Kristen R. Podein, Rockford
Meghan E. McNeilly, Clare