Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 23, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2014-15 school year have been announced, with 18 schools having multiple candidates for the 32 awards.
The program, celebrating its 26th anniversary, 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, 640 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, the final 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. Beal City has three finalists this year. Seventeen schools each have two finalists: Ann Arbor Pioneer, Berkley, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Cheboygan, Dearborn Divine Child, East Grand Rapids, Grandville, Hartland, Holland, Iron Mountain, Plainwell, Roscommon, Springport, Traverse City Central, Traverse City West, Utica Ford and White Lake Lakeland.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.63, while the average of the application pool was 2.16. There are 65 three-plus sport participants in the finalist field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 406 schools which submitted applicants, 45 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,584 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Click for additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees.
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. 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 honor the 32 Scholar-Athlete Award recipients, a ceremony will take place during halftime of the Class C Boys Basketball Final, March 28, 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, one of Michigan's major insurers, has a statewide force of 450 agents serving nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders. Besides providing life, home, auto, farm, business and retirement insurance, the company also sponsors life-saving, real-time Doppler weather tracking systems in several Michigan communities.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.
2014-15 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
BOYS CLASS A
Stone Mathers, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Matthew J. Orringer, Ann Arbor Skyline
Jacob W. Herbers, Battle Creek Lakeview
Eric Braun, Berkley
Justin Boogaart, Byron Center
David A. Posawatz, Clarkston
Michael Kenney, Detroit U-D Jesuit
Sean Lang, East Grand Rapids
Mikey Roth, East Grand Rapids
Joseph Pummill, Garden City
Miles Kuperus, Grand Rapids Christian
Andrew James Fox, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Kyler Beal, Holland
Raymond Surya, Holland
Collin DeShaw, Holland West Ottawa
Andrew Bennett, Linden
Ryan Susterich, Muskegon Mona Shores
Shunhe Wang, Northville
Mark Luoma, Okemos
Ravin Randall, Port Huron
Benjamin Hill, Royal Oak
Alex Scott, Traverse City West
Blake McComas, White Lake Lakeland
Matthew Carter, Ypsilanti Lincoln
GIRLS CLASS A
Kara N. Gehrke, Alpena
Rachel Menge, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Eliza Laramee, Berkley
Rachel DaDamio, Birmingham Seaholm
Diane Reed, Bloomfield Hills
Sheridan Skopczynski, Gibraltar Carlson
Isabella Buck, Grandville
Allison Utting, Grandville
Allegra Lanae Berry, Greenville
Sara Condra, Hartland
Carson Vestergaard, Hartland
Kirsten Smith, Lansing Eastern
Caycee Turczyn, Lapeer
Meg Darmofal, Mason
Cydney Martell, Richland Gull Lake
Hayley Rogers, Salem
Emily Diehl, Saline
Courtney Rooker, St. Joseph
Ashley Ko, Traverse City Central
Ellie Lauren Taylor, Traverse City Central
Mikenna Ray, Traverse City West
Danielle Maxwell, Utica Ford
Alex Sorgi, Utica Ford
Jessica Erickson, White Lake Lakeland
BOYS CLASS B
Stephen Luckoff, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Francis Misra, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Samuel Swem, Buchanan
T.J. Baker, Cadillac
Derek Sturvist, Cheboygan
Dane Miller, Dearborn Divine Child
Tyler James Burkhardt, Fowlerville
Andrew Olesak, Gladstone
Bradley Madsen, Manistee
Tyler Horn, Marshall
Chandler Biggs, Midland Bullock Creek
Jonathan Krug, New Boston Huron
Jacob Almeda, Plainwell
Trenton L. Monroe, Plainwell
Mark Williamson, Spring Lake
Garrett Bondy, Yale
GIRLS CLASS B
Kendall Latshaw, Battle Creek Harper Creek
Kalabrya LeBrae Gondrezick, Benton Harbor
Kelsey Cushway, Big Rapids
Kirstin Anderson, Charlotte
Amanda Paull, Cheboygan
Shelby Bowers, Coldwater
Riley Blair, Dearborn Divine Child
Rebecca Piron, Escanaba
Raven Jefferson-Brinkley, Ferndale
Morgan Ketola, Freeland
Rachel Money, Grayling
Courtney Vande Vorde, Hamilton
Kikel Sekoni, Haslett
Kristen Marsman, Holland Christian
Jenna Davids, Portland
Kelsey Metzger, Sturgis
BOYS CLASS C
Deontay Walker, Bath
Nicholas Pung, Beal City
Ryan Karapas, Clinton
Blaine Michael Stowe, East Jackson
Pierce Vreeland, Gobles
Cole Rossato, Iron Mountain
Mark Holmgren, Ishpeming
Connor Thomas, Marlette
Jason Bell, Negaunee
Jacob Dibbet, Roscommon
Daniel Brown, Springport
Aaron J. Watson, Union City
GIRLS CLASS C
Nicole Gross, Beal City
Emily Elizabeth Steffke, Beal City
Skyler Sobeski, Bronson
Marti Ann Pirkola, Iron Mountain
Mary Grace Fries, Jackson Lumen Christi
Lauren M. Skidmore, Oscoda
Jami Hubbard, Reading
Katie Burmester, Roscommon
Maggie Belcher, Springport
Mallory Munderloh, St Louis
Erica Treiber, Unionville-Sebewaing
Bridget Dewan, Wixom St Catherine
BOYS CLASS D
Kevin Greenman, Battle Creek St. Philip
Chantz Owens, Burr Oak
James Thibodeau, Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Gideon Rea Mulka, Hillman
Aaron Van Horn, Kingston
Travis McCormick, Mason County Eastern
Thomas Gallagher, Peck
Connor Patrick Cappaert, Stephenson
GIRLS CLASS D
Danielle Piggott, Fowler
Taylor Richards, Fruitport Calvary Christian
Rachelle Trafford, Lansing Christian
Anissa Keeler, Marion
Kelsey Rambo, Pickford
Hunter Branstrom, Rock Mid Peninsula
Margo Brown, St. Ignace
Jane Hursey, Suttons Bay
Century of School Sports: Student Advisory Council Gives Voice to Athletes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 15, 2025
The Michigan High School Athletic Association, since its inception in December 1924, has sought to reflect the desires of its membership – at this time, 754 high schools and more than 750 middle schools – and for most of its history carried out that mission by acting on the ideas and concerns of administrators, coaches and game officials.
With the start of the 2006-07 school year, another constituency began supplying its voice to the MHSAA’s decision-making process.
That fall, the first Student Advisory Council began its tenure, made up of eight juniors – four girls and four boys – with those first eight setting the tone for 144 students total who have served over the last 18 years.
The Student Advisory Council, in essence, is that student voice that not only weighs in on topics regarding school sports that are being debated among MHSAA member schools, but also speaks to the benefits of school sports as ambassadors in their schools, leagues and across the state.
The SAC meets six times during the school year, plus once more for a 24-hour leadership camp, and discusses subjects connected with the core values of the MHSAA and educational athletics – scholarship, sportsmanship, safety and a sensible scope of athletic programs, with student leadership also a common topic. SAC members then promote those values through their assistance in the MHSAA’s annual Sportsmanship Summits, various leadership projects, and social media posts and videos.
Over the years, the Student Advisory Council has written two versions of the "MHSAA Captains 101" booklet which was delivered to every school in the state. Members have been featured in two versions of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Captains Course, and the group has advised on changes to MHSAA trophies and medals and gear sold at Finals events.
SAC members also assist with medal ceremonies at MHSAA championship events and take on other projects throughout the school year; for example, the Student Advisory Council coordinated and judged the MHSAA’s Battle of the Fans student section contest during its 10-year run that ended in 2022, and this school year created the below statement on sportsmanship to be used during MHSAA broadcasts and live events.
The Student Advisory Council was the creation of MHSAA Assistant Director Andy Frushour and based at first on a similar program hosted by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.
The first Council included then-juniors Andria Baker of Constantine, Dustin Baker of St. Louis, Bryce Bilinski of Southgate Anderson, Brittany Bullock of Lansing Catholic, Rachel Gebauer of Alpena, Eric Howard of Hudsonville Freedom Christian, Blake Laethem of Caro and Molly Waterhouse of Vicksburg. Joining them in Year 2 were juniors Abby Cohen of Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Willie Cruz of Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse, Michelle DeMuro of Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Adam Dingman of Cedarville, Matt Herman of East Kentwood, Molley Lockwood of Fife Lake Forest Area, Jeff Petsch of Montague and CC Weber of Goodrich.
Including that group, there have been representatives from 136 schools – nearly 20 percent of the MHSAA’s high school membership.
Applications are being accepted through April 21 from candidates for the Class of 2027 – with those students, as juniors, to serve as part of the 20th Student Advisory Council. Click here for the application. Selections are made through a multi-part process that includes initial consideration of applicants by members of the MHSAA’s brand and student services team and then interviews with finalists.
The current Student Advisory Council includes seniors Cale Bell from Sault Ste. Marie, Drew Cady from Oxford, Macy Jenkins from Milford, Isaiah Kabban from Harbor Beach, Ella Knudsen from Leland, Kaylee Kranz from Clinton, Joey Spada from Kalamazoo Central, and Aynalem Zoet from Grandville Calvin Christian; and juniors Itzel Albarran from Bronson, Harper Barnhart from Brownstown Woodhaven, Diamond Cook from Southfield Christian, Henry Ewles from Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Cole Haist from Big Rapids, Frannie Keeley from Jenison, Trey LaValley from Romeo, and Ethan Stine from Bridgman.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
April 9: State's Storytellers Share Spring Memories - Read
April 2: Sharp Leadership Synonymous with MHSAA Success - Read
March 25: Athletic Directors Indispensable to Mission of School Sports - Read
March 18: 2025 Finals Begin Next Half-Century of Girls Hoops Championships - Read
March 11: Boys Basketball's Best 1st to Earn MHSAA Finals Titles - Read
March 5: Everything We Do Begins with Participation - Read
Feb. 25: Slogans & Logos Remain Unforgettable Parts of MHSAA History - Read
Feb. 19: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value - Read
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTOS Student Advisory Council members over the years participate in challenges during an overnight camp, hand out championship trophies, take photos together at MHSAA leadership events, and take a few minutes for a dance-off during a monthly meeting.