Courtesy of MHSAA

 

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 22 – The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2018-19 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.

 

The program, in its 30th year, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.

 

Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 768 scholarships have been awarded.

 

Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships will be awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships will be awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.

 

Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification, and could have more than one finalist. Detroit Catholic Central has four finalists this year while Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, Northville and St. Joseph each have three. Twelve schools each have two finalists: Ann Arbor Pioneer, Big Rapids, Davison, Fenton, Grand Rapids West Catholic, Grosse Pointe South, Marlette, Novi, Okemos, Saranac, Traverse City Central and White Lake Lakeland.

 

Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.4. There are 77 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.

 

Of 418 schools which submitted applicants, 30 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,645 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the MHSAA Website atwww.mhsaa.com/schools/students/scholarathleteaward.aspx.

 

The applications were judged by a 65-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 5, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 12 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 19. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.

 

To honor the 32 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony will take place during halftime of the Class C Boys Basketball Final, March 16, at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.

 

To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

 

Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services—life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more—protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.

 

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 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 more than 1.4 million spectators each year. 

 

2018-19 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists

 

BOYS CLASS A

Colin Czajkowski, Brownstown Woodhaven

David DeBacker, Detroit Catholic Central

Joseph Hardenbergh, Detroit Catholic Central

Keegan Koehler, Detroit Catholic Central

Ryan Marra, Detroit Catholic Central

Jack Killian, Fenton

Noah Stout, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central

Ryan Downey, Grosse Pointe South

Michael Willard, Grosse Pointe South

Samuel Martens, Holland

Carson Currie, Lapeer

Noah Kinnucan, Muskegon Mona Shores

Daniel McLaughlin, Northville

Matthew George, Novi

Trey Mullins, Novi

Carson Krumm, Okemos

Harrison Poeszat, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s

Parker Raymond, Rochester Adams

Nolan Rich, St. Joseph

Edward Roe, Traverse City Central

Michael Song, Troy

John Tisch, Utica

Trent Farquhar, White Lake Lakeland

Avery Robinson, Wyoming

 

GIRLS CLASS A

Anna Scott, Ann Arbor Huron

Alexa Easter, Ann Arbor Pioneer

EmJ Rennich, Ann Arbor Pioneer

McKenna Evans, Battle Creek Lakeview

Ariella Cuellar, Bay City Central

Emily Moriartey, Davison

Ellie Timmons, Davison

Audrey Whiteside, East Grand Rapids

Chloe Idoni, Fenton

Lexi Loehfelm, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern

Adele Kemp, Greenville

Addison Irish, Hudsonville

Maya Albright, Midland

Mariella Simoncini, Northville

Claire Wan, Northville

Alma Cooper, Okemos

Yveloute Rea, Petoskey

Elizabeth Bulat, Rochester

Megan Corbe, St. Joseph

Cailey Rooker, St. Joseph

Jade Turner, Traverse City Central

Madeline Purvis, Troy Athens

Madeline Rehm, White Lake Lakeland

Megan Morehouse, Zeeland East

 

BOYS CLASS B

Sam Bussler, Battle Creek Harper Creek

Pierce Morrissey, Big Rapids

Clark Doman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Justin Luo, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Alex Netzley, Cadillac

Noah Doederlein, Carleton Airport

Adam Bruce, Gladstone

Jack Perry, Michigan Center

Connor Swinehart, Newaygo

Michael Gormley, North Branch

Isaac Waffle, Olivet

Tommee Smith, Sparta

Cooper Clark, Stevensville Lakeshore

Dillon Mochty, Tawas

Dylan Day, Tecumseh

Ethan McKenzie, Whitehall

 

GIRLS CLASS B

Kamryn Cushway, Big Rapids

Salena Prakah-Asante, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Eleri Giem, Boyne City

Lauren Anderson, Charlotte

Olivia Haring, Clare

Daisy Ansel, Comstock

Sarah Bidgood, Comstock Park

Chloe Bartz, Edwardsburg

Zoe Neirink, Frankenmuth

Bridget Kohane, Grand Rapids West Catholic

Dana Wila, Grand Rapids West Catholic

Lindsey Jurecki, Grosse Ile

Robin LeFevere, Imlay City

Sophie Moccio, Milan

Emily Unger, Montague

Mallory Kean, Yale

 

BOYS CLASS C

Trey Feldeisen, Ann Arbor Greenhills

Brian Goetz, Blissfield

Timothy Marvin, Byron

Noah Waldron, Concord

Jared Swiontek, East Jackson

Alexander VanDeWeghe, Ithaca

Jack Sumners, Marcellus

Logan Marshall, Marlette

Logan Solgat, Marlette

Dane Smitz, Roscommon

Drew Ward, Saranac

Nathan Huizar, Vassar

 

GIRLS CLASS C

Sarah Barnes, Houghton Lake

Precious Delos Santos, Indian River Inland Lakes

Riley Poupore, Iron Mountain

Lauren Freeland, Kent City

Megan Dopheide, Lawton

Elizabeth O’Hotzke, Manchester

Joslyn Muth, Manistique

Rachel Allen, Mason County Central

Jordan Cooper, Saranac

Thea Johnson, Saugatuck

Lillian Bambacht, Union City

Jordan Craven, Whitmore Lake

 

BOYS CLASS D

Jake Lane, Climax-Scotts

Brendan LeClaire, Dollar Bay

William Newbold, Frankfort

John Slivka, Manistee Catholic Central

Ryan Yahner, McBain Northern Michigan Christian

Noah Krepostman, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

Brendan Zeien, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

Brandon Scheurer, Portland St. Patrick

 

GIRLS CLASS D

Keagan Fischer, Bellaire

Lyndsi Wolfe, Fulton

Natalie Woodland, Lansing Christian

Samantha Somers, Mackinaw City

Scout Nelson, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

Abbey Bullis, Peck

Jessie Rieth, Three Oaks River Valley

Julia Diskin, West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy