
2022 Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2022
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2021-22 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 33rd 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, 864 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. Brownstown Woodhaven, Freeland and St. Johns have three finalists this year. Nineteen schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Pioneer, Detroit Catholic Central, Fenton, Fowler, Frankenmuth, Hillsdale Academy, Holland, Holland West Ottawa, Kingsford, Livonia Churchill, Livonia Franklin, McBain Northern Michigan Christian, Montague, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Ortonville Brandon, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Saline, Traverse City West and White Lake Lakeland.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.91. There are 81 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 407 schools which submitted applicants, 26 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,434 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.
The applications were judged by a 58-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. 8, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 15 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 22. 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, 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.
2021-22 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Cookie Estelleh Baugh, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Amelia Weyhing, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Piper Barnhart, Brownstown Woodhaven
Sophia Lustig, Brownstown Woodhaven
Madison Hissong, Fraser
Brooke Myers, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Ana Todesco, Grosse Pointe North
Sonya Konon, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse
Greta VanZetten, Holland
Elzien Zomer, Holland
Natalie Blake, Holland West Ottawa
Ella Spooner, Holland West Ottawa
Abigail Lueck, Livonia Churchill
Samantha Provenzano, Livonia Franklin
Erica Molnar, Livonia Stevenson
Laura Leiti, Midland Dow
Alexandria Stacy French, Richland Gull Lake
Ella DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Kiera Hall, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Kate Meinecke, Royal Oak
Alexis Maloney, St. Johns
Sara Schermerhorn, Traverse City West
Hannah DiGiovanni, Troy Athens
Maeve Spicer, White Lake Lakeland
BOYS CLASS A
Nathan Pawlowicz, Battle Creek Lakeview
Brady Wright, Birmingham Seaholm
Nathan Jerore, Brownstown Woodhaven
Colin Pearson, Caledonia
Joseph Marano, Dearborn Edsel Ford
Conner Bell, Detroit Catholic Central
Neil Zhu, Detroit Catholic Central
Chase Gibson, Fenton
Nick Temple, Fenton
Ben Taylor, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Ross VanBlois, Grandville
Owen Swisher, Livonia Churchill
James Oberman, Livonia Franklin
Colin Koot, Mason
Klay Grant, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
John Bungart, Orchard Lake St Mary's
Thomas Randall, Orchard Lake St Mary's
William Goelz, Petoskey
Blake Coy, Saline
Amod Talekar, Saline
Kaden Keller, St. Johns
Jake Lasceski, St. Johns
Ethan Tennant, Temperance Bedford
Michael T. Schermerhorn, Traverse City West
Caiden Carlson, White Lake Lakeland
GIRLS CLASS B
Elise Rose Johnson, Benzie Central
Sydni Mudge, Birch Run
Claire Thomson, Clawson
Faith Breinager, Frankenmuth
Emma Kerkau, Frankenmuth
Sophia Argyle, Freeland
Whitney Farrell, Freeland
Haley Zerlaut, Fremont
Maggie Duba, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Magdalaina Menghini, Kingsford
Claire Meacham, Montague
Mallory Moore, Ortonville Brandon
Paige Thwing, Ortonville Brandon
Alina Stanczak, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Ashley Bower, Portland
Rylee Tolson, Stockbridge
BOYS CLASS B
Zachary Elmouchi, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Thomas Hamann, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Jeff Ren, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Jace DeRosia, Chelsea
Jared Hanson, Escanaba
Liam Anderson, Essexville Garber
Alex Duley, Freeland
Jack Rellinger, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Curtis Knapp, Jonesville
Michael A. Meneguzzo, Kingsford
Seth Thompson, Manistee
Jerome Korten, Marshall
Cale Coppess, Montague
Bennett Blase Hitzelberger, Richmond
Joseph Hayes, Shelby
Derek Distelrath, St. Clair
GIRLS CLASS C
Haley Anne Newland, Bad Axe
Karly Smith, Beal City
Isabel Contreras-Spencer, Grass Lake
Gillian Kuehnle, Hartford
Gabrielle Carey, Iron Mountain
Jillian Koski, Ishpeming Westwood
Jordan Fox, Lake City
Isabel Henige, New Lothrop
Trinity Kolka, Sanford Meridian
Anna McPherson, Saranac
Ryann Locke, Springport
Korah Honig, St. Louis
BOYS CLASS C
Mert Oral, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Dylan David Reisig, Bridgman
Cole Garrison Stone, Carson City-Crystal
Samuel Peterson, Charlevoix
Ryan Doty, Clinton
Jack Davis, Holland Black River
Jack Hollebeek, Grandville Calvin Christian
Isaac Backman, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep
Ty Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Joshua M. Fairbanks, Roscommon
Jonah Cerone, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
Alex Tanner, Whitmore Lake
GIRLS CLASS D
Ashton Hord, Felch North Dickinson
Mia Riley, Fowler
Tara Townsend, Frankfort
Alaina Roush, Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian
Anna Roberts, Hillsdale Academy
Meredith VanDerWeide, Hillsdale Academy
Skylar Wiesen, Leland
Megan Bennett, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
BOYS CLASS D
Cole Robinson, Bellaire
Jack Matrella, Bessemer
Brayden M. Steenwyk, Ellsworth
Jacob Rademacher, Fowler
Eli Shoup, Mason County Eastern
Jonas P. Lanser, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
Samuel Paga, Petoskey St. Michael Academy
Ashton McNabb, Three Oaks River Valley

Council Approves Tennis Finals Pilot Program, Girls Wrestling Titles at Districts, Regionals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 8, 2025
The approval of a pilot program assigning all four Lower Peninsula Tennis Finals to be played at one site and the addition of girls wrestling team championships for District and Regional rounds were among actions taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its Spring Meeting, May 4-5 in Gaylord.
The Spring Meeting of the 19-member legislative body of the Association’s more than 1,500 member schools is generally the busiest of its sessions each year. The Council considered 22 committee proposals and dealt with a variety of eligibility rule, postseason tournament and operational issues.
The tennis pilot program was an MHSAA Tennis Committee recommendation and will be conducted during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 schools years. All four Lower Peninsula Finals for girls and boys seasons will be played at the Midland Tennis Center, which in addition to substantial outdoor courts includes up to 16 available indoor courts in case matches must be played inside due to inclement weather. Each season’s four Finals will take place over two successive days during a two-week period – one division on a Wednesday and Thursday and the next on a Friday and Saturday, to be repeated the following week.
In girls wrestling, District and Regional team champions will be awarded during the upcoming 2025-26 season for the first time, after a Finals champion was awarded for the first time this past season. Champions for all rounds will be determined by results from individual brackets as the sport continues to grow toward the possibility of a head-to-head team tournament.
A pair of football changes will be noticeable this fall. The Council approved a Football Committee recommendation to not award playoff points to a team that forfeits a football game; previously, a team that forfeited would still receive the bonus points for scheduling that opponent, although a game was never played. The Council also approved a Football Committee recommendation to assign neutral sites with artificial turf for the four 8-Player Semifinals near the end of each season. Previously that round of the MHSAA Playoffs, like the first two of the 8-Player Tournament, was hosted by the participating team with the highest playoff-point average.
Anticipating the first MHSAA-sponsored boys volleyball season to be played in Spring 2026, the Council approved a pair of Volleyball Committee recommendations regarding tournament classification and structure. The first establishes a tournament with two divisions, with classification determined by enrollment and delayed until September prior to this inaugural season only as to allow for a more accurate count of how many schools will have teams. The first MHSAA Boys Volleyball Semifinals and Finals will be played June 5-6, 2026, at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
The Council also approved the recommendation to include boys volleyball among sports for which cooperatives are permitted when the combined enrollment of schools involved is fewer than 3,500 students.
Here is a summary of other notable actions taken by the Representative Council at the Spring Meeting, which will take effect during the 2025-26 school year:
Regulations
• The Council approved a pair of changes to the sport-specific transfer regulation regarding the full-and-complete residential move exception that allows students to gain immediate eligibility. The first increases the number of school days to 180 that a student who has changed residences and attends a new school must complete at that new school before returning to a previous school district and potentially having athletic eligibility in that former district. The 180 days also applies to all persons with whom the student moved to the new school district; if those other persons move back to the former school district before 180 school days, the student loses eligibility in all sports at all schools until approved by the two school districts and the MHSAA.
The second change increased the amount of time an athlete’s former residence must be signed into a long-term rental or lease agreement to a minimum of 12 months.
• The Council approved multiple clarifications to the definition of a scrimmage. A clarification was added to note that win-loss records, team and individual statistics and records may not be accrued or achieved during a scrimmage. A statement was added as well explaining that in sports that do not use a timing device – for example, baseball and softball – at least one rule must be altered to indicate it is a scrimmage.
Junior High/Middle School
• The Council approved a change to allow junior high/middle school teams to begin fall practice on the first day of classes at that school if it’s before the otherwise first allowable practice date on the 14th Monday before Thanksgiving. Ninth-grade football teams from junior high/middle schools may begin practice on the same date as the grade 10-12 football teams of that school district if the ninth-grade team is comprised only of ninth-grade students who have been approved for eligibility advancement.
• Also concerning junior high/middle school athletes, the Council approved a Junior High/Middle School Committee recommendation to make seventh and eighth-grade students who are eligible for high school competition due to their high school’s small enrollments also subject to high school transfer rules while in middle school and competing at the high school level.
Sport Matters
• BASEBALL: The Council approved a Baseball Committee recommendation to allow baseball players to play on multiple levels on the same day, with the 38-game season and daily limits still applying to all students.
• BOWLING: The Council approved a Bowling Committee recommendation to establish the official start of bowling practice as the third Monday before Thanksgiving.
The Council also approved a Bowling Committee recommendation to allow students to participate in no more than eight games on a school day (Monday-Thursday).
• COMPETITIVE CHEER: The Council approved the incorporation of a series of Competitive Cheer Committee-proposed technical high school and middle school rules recommendations into the 2024-26 Girls Competitive Cheer manual.
• GOLF: The Council approved a Golf Committee recommendation to allow Regional Tournament host schools to receive reimbursement for the expense of two referees.
• TENNIS: The Council approved two more Tennis Committee recommendations. The first will allow for all teams that tie for third place at their Regional to advance to Finals, but only in Lower Peninsula divisions where there are six Regionals.
The other approved change will allow continuous coaching between points and between non-changeover games, at all levels, if that coaching does not hinder the current pace of play.
• VOLLEYBALL: The Council also approved a Volleyball Committee recommendation to allow students to play in no more than 18 sets (games) per day.
The Council also reviewed reports on membership, with 754 senior high schools and 777 junior high/middle schools in 2024-25 plus 63 elementary schools with 6th-grader participation; cooperative programs, with 409 high school programs for 750 teams during 2024-25; eligibility advancement applications, which totaled four; the use of Educational Transfer Forms, of which there were 142; travel forms for out-of-state practice, school violations, attendance at athletic director in-service workshops and Coaches Advancement Program sessions; officials’ registrations (which were up nearly two percent from 2023-24 as the total rose for the fourth-consecutive school year), and officials reports submitted for the past three sports seasons. The Association’s $15.7 million budget for the 2025-26 school year also was approved.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
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.