Howell Puts Heart Into Memorial Meet
August 29, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
An online tribute to Mackenzie Watts describes how she “made the people and world around her better.”
The Howell swimming and diving community continues to work so that her memory makes those who come after her safer as well.
Watts died in 2005 after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia. She was a 15-year-old sophomore and key cog on her high school team.
This past weekend, for the sixth straight season, the Highlanders hosted the Kenzie Classic, an invitational that served as a fundraiser for the Howell program and annual Mackenzie Watts scholarship – plus served to promote heart screenings by local National Diagnostic Services in their “HeartMobile” parked outside the pool.
NDS, which also has held screening events at Northville, Canton and Middleville Thornapple Kellogg schools among others, screened 20 students during this Kenzie Classic, said Wellness Director Heidi Enders.
Tests are ultrasound-based and non-invasive, and include an EKG to examine the heart’s electrical system for arrhythmias and an echocardiogram to examine the heart’s structure in case there is a thickening of the muscle (known as hyperthrophic cardiomyopathy). Adults were charged $199 and students $75, with discounted rates for adults in groups and children.
Click to check out coverage of the event from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus.
Records Revamp
While tracking down 660 football schedules (give or take a few) took up most of the summer, there still was time for a few additions to the MHSAA record book – with more to come.
Track and field fans will notice records from retired yardage events (pre-1982 or earlier depending on the MHSAA class) have been added to the online records here for boys and here for girls.
Cross country fans should check out our lists of top MHSAA Finals times for every division and every class, plus overall top 10 lists for both boys and girls since the race was set to five kilometers in 1980. Click here for girls and here for boys.
Also added or updated were team championship counts for both cross countries, volleyball and girls golf. Click to check out girls golf here and volleyball here.
Fond Football Memories
It has been 30 years since former Genesee all-state running back Don Robinson became the fourth player in Genesee County history to run for more than 300 yards in one game – which he did in gaining 317 on Sept. 23, 1983.
High school football and those memories remain close to his heart even after going on to play at Eastern Michigan University, a stint in the U.S. Navy and a move to Georgia.
He’s paid attention over the years as that “300 club” has grown to 22 players including current New Orleans Saints back Mark Ingram, Jr., and the University of Michigan’s Thomas Rawls.
He’s also a regular reader of Second Half, and asked to send along some words of wisdom to those who will be taking the field to begin the season this weekend:
“When you run out onto the field this season, do me a favor. At least once, pause.
“Look around you. Look at the lights in the sky. See the faces of those that have come to see you play. Listen to the band and the cheerleaders. Look into the eyes of your teammates ...
“Take it all in. When you’re older and miss this amazing game that you are playing, you’ll be glad you did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A swimmer takes the lead during a race at Saturday's Kenzie Klassic at Howell High School. (Photo courtesy of Howell High School.) (Middle) Genesee graduate Don Robinson runs the ball during the 1983 season. (Photo courtesy of Don Robinson.)
Finalists Announced for 2025-26 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 20, 2026
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2025-26 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 37th 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 $2,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 991 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 awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships 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. This year, 95 schools have a finalist, with Birmingham Groves and Flint Powers Catholic atop the list with three apiece. Twenty-one schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Bay City Central, Birch Run, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Corunna, Detroit Country Day, Frankenmuth, Grand Ledge, Holland, Holland West Ottawa, Midland Dow, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart, Negaunee, Northville, Okemos, Plymouth, Royal Oak, White Lake Lakeland and Yale.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 3.02, up from 2.88 a year ago. There also are 82 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, up from 75 in 2024-25, and all 31 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented — including field hockey and boys volleyball, which joined the MHSAA's championship lineup this school year for the first time.
Of 426 schools which submitted applicants, 20 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,438 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete Award information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the Scholar-Athlete Award page.
The applications were judged by a 72-member committee of 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. 3, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 10 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 17. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.
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 and 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.
2025-26 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Reese Beauleaux, Adrian
Asia Shi, Ann Arbor Huron
Lilamae Frank, Battle Creek Lakeview
Brynn Corrion, Bay City Central
Bella Matthews, Bay City Central
Lydia Binelli, Berkley
Jacey Roy, Birmingham Groves
Julia Yoder, Birmingham Groves
Ella Griffin, Bloomfield Hills
Sydney Behnke, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Justine Casey, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Laurin M. Edwards, Detroit Cass Tech
Grace Kim, Farmington Hills Mercy
Gracelynn Olson, Fruitport
Jade Queen, Grand Ledge
Maggie Telgenhof, Holland
Maggie Rothstein, Holland West Ottawa
Mattie Thompson, Okemos
Veda Keshavamurthy, Plymouth
Ava Mac Donald, Rochester Adams
Jillian Hayes, Saline
Arabella Glass, Waterford Kettering
Anna Linen, White Lake Lakeland
Meredith Peterson, White Lake Lakeland
BOYS CLASS A
Ari Blank, Birmingham Groves
Caleb Garrett, Birmingham Seaholm
Sajan Doshi, Bloomfield Hills
Kazutaka Suzuki, Canton
Ryan Dye, Detroit Catholic Central
Carson Soltis, DeWitt
Trevor Griffith, Flint Kearsley
Ian Deters, Grand Ledge
Eli Macauley, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Andrew Legg, Holland
Drew Rothstein, Holland West Ottawa
Wesley Rogers, Mason
Marcel Stork, Mattawan
Eamon Murray, Midland
Matthew Huang, Midland Dow
Matthew McGaugh, Midland Dow
Benjamin Hu, Northville
Amogh Mavatoor, Northville
Ian Morgan, Okemos
Sami Anwar, Plymouth
Omar Elghawy, Portage Northern
Luke Desnoyer, Royal Oak
Nicholas Maeso, Royal Oak
Owen Wohlfert, Traverse City West
GIRLS CLASS B
Sophia Hazzi, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Sydney Fox, Birch Run
Avery Pagel, Birch Run
Presley Chamberlain, Cheboygan
Madison Dennis, Durand
Natalie Foltz, Frankenmuth
Julia Noureddine, Grosse Ile
Phoebe Elder, Haslett
Brayley West, Lake Fenton
Aubrey Tarkiewicz, Marshall
Clare O'Donnell, Negaunee
Liliana Saunders, Negaunee
Lilly Thelen, Portland
Maya Grossman, Vicksburg
Ava Lassey, Wixom St. Catherine
Kendall Hollon, Yale
BOYS CLASS B
Parth Ashok, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Cole Haist, Big Rapids
Miles Dell, Chelsea
Nolan Carr, Corunna
Joel DeLorge, Corunna
Hugh Aaron, Detroit Country Day
Micah Zacks, Detroit Country Day
Möbius Stubblefield, Edwardsburg
Caleb Carignan, Flint Powers Catholic
Bryce Gross, Flint Powers Catholic
Logan Johnson, Flint Powers Catholic
Caden Sommerfield, Frankenmuth
Dylan Becksvoort, Holland Christian
Jaxxon Thelen, Ionia
Tucker Cole, Tecumseh
Jackson Kohler, Yale
GIRLS CLASS C
Anna Poppema, Bath
Hope Miller, Blissfield
Brynne Schulte, Elk Rapids
Addyson Rhodes, Grandville Calvin Christian
Molly Soper, Hanover-Horton
Izabella Latuszek, Laingsburg
Maya Carlson, Manistique
Ashley Carlson, Norway
Luella Whipkey, Oscoda
Emma Winans, Perry
Lillian Kwiatkowski, Rudyard
Irelynn Pachulski, Saranac
BOYS CLASS C
Ethan Stine, Bridgman
Joe Gaffney, Charlevoix
Gavin Comero, Ishpeming Westwood
Sean Siems, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep
Eli Smith, LeRoy Pine River
Grason Weber, Leslie
Sean Dammann, New Lothrop
Logan Slimko, North Muskegon
Drew Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Luke Paxton, Pewamo-Westphalia
Ryan Kowalczyk, Pinconning
Amos Miller, Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy
GIRLS CLASS D
Audrey Stone, Bessemer
Madison Karakashian, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart
Alexa Ross, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart
Caila Fitchett, Dryden
Lorna Wiesen, Leland
Isabel Rookard, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Hope Woolman, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian
Emily DelFavero, Wakefield-Marenisco
BOYS CLASS D
Zyan Breznik, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Ian Flanagan, Deckerville
Brady Jungwirth, Felch North Dickinson
David Wahl, Gaylord St Mary
Connor Hill, Hillsdale Academy
Noah Zeien, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Jack Nelson, Ontonagon
Louis Kowalsky, West Bloomfield FJA