Scholars and Athletes 2013: Classes C, D
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 5, 2013
Eleven student-athletes from Michigan High School Athletic Association Class C and D member schools have been selected to receive scholarships through its Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 24th year of sponsoring the award, will give a $1,000 college scholarship to 32 individuals who represent their member school in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament. The first 30 scholarships are awarded proportionately by school classification and the number of student-athletes involved in those classes; also, there are two at-large honorees which can come from any classification.
Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored at halftime ceremonies of the Class C Boys Basketball Final game March 23 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing. Commemorative medallions will be given to other finalists in recognition of their accomplishments.
The Class C Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Kylei Ratkowski, Bronson; Grace Smith, Kalamazoo Hackett; Nicole Winter, Watervliet; Jesse Anderson, Union City; Ashwin Fujii, Ann Arbor Greenhills; Connor Lockman, Royal Oak Shrine.
The Class D Scholar-Athlete Award scholarship recipients are: Elyse Kathleen Lisznyai, Hillsdale Academy; Elena Victoria Luce, Mason County Eastern; Charles Barchett, Watervliet Grace Christian; Chip A. Blood, Hillsdale Academy; Francisco Jay Noyola, Lansing Christian.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class C Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay is also included:
Kylei Ratkowski, Bronson. Three-time letterwinner in volleyball and basketball, serving as team captain in both sports. Also won a letter in track and field. Was all-conference and all-area in volleyball as a senior, and also a third-team all-state selection. Was Homecoming Queen in 2012. Class treasurer throughout high school and served for four years on student council, the last two years as vice president. Active in National Honor Society, Varsity Club and 4-H; and served as an officer in all three groups. Volunteers to instruct and officiate in youth girls volleyball and basketball and to work with a local food pantry and visit shut-ins. Plans medical studies at the University of Notre Dame or Michigan State University.
Essay Quote: “Athletics is about more than winning, it is about creating winners with the right attitude. It is about developing athletes that genuinely care about their opponents and do the right thing when put to the test. Sportsmanship is essential to educational athletics and we as athletes and fan of athletics need to do all we can to insure sportsmanship remains a significant part of every game.”
Grace Smith, Kalamazoo Hackett. Will earn her fourth varsity letter in soccer this spring, and also won three varsity letters in basketball. Was captain of basketball team this year, and most valuable of soccer team last spring. An Academic All-State honoree twice in both sports. Has also won all-district and all-league awards twice in soccer. Three-year member of National Honor Society, Student Athletic Advisory Board and Quiz Bowl team at her school. Was president of Student Athletic Advisory Board as a Senior, and Quiz Bowl team was a state finalist last year. Editor of student newspaper and Synthesis Literary Magazine. Has volunteered with Salvation Army, Vacation Bible School and Habitat for Humanity. Plans biology or pre-medical studies in college.
Essay Quote: “We both desperately wanted to win, but we saw the other person was more important than the outcome of the game. We did whatever we could to help our team win, but we did not do it out of hatred for our opponent. When the game was over, our friendship and mutual respect was still intact.”
Nicole Winter, Watervliet. Will earn 15 varsity letters in four different sports – four each in volleyball, basketball and softball; and three in track and field. A team captain and most valuable player in volleyball and basketball; and has earned all-conference honors in all four sports. Will finish basketball career as school record holder in assists and three-point field goals, and will likely top the 1,000-point mark in scoring. Also won Academic All-State award as a junior in basketball. President of school’s Student Council and vice president of the National Honor Society, and was also a class officer three times. Editor of school yearbook and member of newspaper staff; won an award for outstanding achieve as editor of the press association at Girls State. Will attend either Calvin College or Hope College to study communications, English or history.
Essay Quote: “No one will win every game; therefore, it is critical to learn how to conduct yourself after wins and losses. Losing is one of the toughest events to go through, but you learn more from one loss than from one hundred wins.”
Jesse Anderson, Union City. A four-year performer in both cross country and track and field. Helped track team to last three Big Eight Conference titles, and second place finishes at MHSAA Finals. Won all-conference honors as part of two relay teams and in two individual events. Was most valuable on 2012 cross country team. President of his class for three consecutive years, and vice president of National Honor Society. Active as a volunteer with local Red Cross and March of Dimes, and a member of his church youth group and 4-H. Served as editor of school yearbook. Won DAR Good Citizen Award and was twice selected as school Student of the Month. Plans medical studies at Grand Valley State University.
Essay Quote: “To truly know what sportsmanship is, you must be put in situations where being a good sportsman is not the easiest thing to do and making, at times, the unpopular choice to do what is right instead of what is easy.”
Ashwin Fujii, Ann Arbor Greenhills. A team captain in cross country and track and field, winning four varsity letters in both sports. Won All-State honors in cross country as a Junior, and as also an Academic All-State honoree. League champion in 3,200-meter run in track. Also a three-time letterwinner in swimming, where he holds several school records. On the Student Council for four years, elected president as a Senior. Was on the Chess Team and part of the Green Initiative Group for two years. Served as a volunteer swimming coach for kids recovering from cancer therapy. A National Merit Scholar Semifinalists, and a two-time Greenhills School Academic Scholar honoree. Will attend the University of Michigan and study engineering.
Essay Quote: “Just as competing with sportsmanship will make you better, competing without it will do nothing but make you dirtier and more disrespectful. Competitors lacking sportsmanship might win at first, but they won’t improve.”
Connor Lockman, Royal Oak Shrine. Will earn his fourth letter in track and field this Spring to go with four letters in soccer and one letter in cross country. Has served as a team captain in cross country and track and field. An all-league performer in all three sports, was league 800-meter champion the past two years. Has participated in the MHSAA Finals in both cross country and track. Was academic all-state and track team most valuable in 2012. Other school activity involvement includes National Honor Society, Ski Club, Backstage Tech Crew, the Winners Circle leadership forum, and a leader in Kairos. Has also been a youth soccer coach and referee. Will attend Michigan State University to study pre-law.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship is turning for the finish line with one hundred meters left and not giving up. Running toward the pain because you are the anchor of your 3,200-meter relay. Second place would not matter that much for you because you have three more opportunities at a championship. Your teammates may not though. You run towards the pain for your teammates and that is true sportsmanship.”
Other Class C girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Alyssa R. Briolat, Ubly; Kara Craig, Schoolcraft; Lindsey Dopheide, Lawton; Margaret Elizabeth Durbin, Boyne City; Macayla Geiner, Hart; Natalie Perry, Sand Creek; Theresa Pickell, Reese; Abigail Radomsky, Kalamazoo Hackett; and Faith Schroeder, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary.
Other Class C boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Brian Christopher Aldrich, Kalamazoo Hackett; Kenner Broullire, Manistique; Jesse Corbat, Breckenridge; Parker Eldred, Blanchard Montabella; Zachary A. Kerr, Saugatuck; Mike O'Brien, Maple City-Glen Lake; Elliott Rains, Sand Creek; Quinton Rice, Marcellus; and Luke Schaffner, Clinton.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class D Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay is also included:
Elyse Kathleen Lisznyai, Hillsdale Academy. Will earn 16 varsity letters in high school career in basketball, cross country, golf and track. Began high school competition in eighth grade because of school’s small enrollment, and won all-state honors in cross country and track in 2008-09. Ran leg of winning 3,200-relay at MHSAA L.P. Division 4 Track & Field Finals in 2010, was part of two medaling relays in 2012. Played in Division 4 Golf Finals five straight years, and finished sixth individually in 2012. Captained golf and track teams. Participated throughout high school in 4-H, Student Council, Drama Club, Chamber Choir and in church youth group. Student Council and National Honor Society officer. Plans to study pre-law at the University of Michigan.
Essay Quote: “As an athlete in the MHSAA, I have dedicated myself to a level of integrity and honesty that manifests itself in my behavior on the field and in the classroom. While I made this commitment as a sportsman, it had taken roots much deeper than in the athletic arena, before I was even old enough to participate in sports. This devotion to the protection of that which is true, good, and beautiful was taught to me as a child by my parents, solidified as a student at Hillsdale Academy, and perpetuated always by a firm belief in God.”
Elena Victoria Luce, Mason County Eastern. Lettered in five sports – basketball, volleyball, softball, soccer and cross country – earning 17 letters. Captained basketball, soccer and volleyball squads; and was all conference in those sports, as well as softball. Academic all-state selection in basketball, and winner of 2012 BCAM Three-Point Shooter’s Challenge at MHSAA Basketball Finals. Class president through middle school and high school. Active in Varsity Club, National Honor Society, Quiz Bowl and yearbook editor. Has been a religious education at her church, and volunteered with the Special Olympics and AYSO Soccer. She plans to pursue a degree in accounting or business in college.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship allows our athletic activities to maintain a competitive level, yet, we are still able to remain respectful to our opponents, and we can maintain our dignity. Nobody wants to feel degraded or put down in anything they do, and sports are supposed to be fun and enjoyable. Sportsmanship is important because it allows all of these things to be possible, and displaying these characteristics allows teams and athletics to be successful in anything they do.”
Charles Barchett, Watervliet Grace Christian. Team captain in all three of his sports – baseball, basketball and soccer. All-conference performer in baseball and soccer. Won team most valuable honors in soccer as a goalie and set school single season record for saves in 2012. Academic all-state honoree in baseball. Participated in 4-H and Buddies In Christ throughout high school. Also took part in drama, National Honor Society and Student Council. Volunteers with the Berrien County Youth Fair, his school cafeteria and as statistician for boys basketball team. Plans to attend Bradley University.
Essay Quote: “Actions speak louder than words, and my actions on the field or court exemplify my personal leadership and integrity. In my mind, that leaves me with two options: play with sportsmanship or don’t play at all.”
Chip A. Blood, Hillsdale Academy. Played varsity basketball, golf and soccer throughout high school and lettered in basketball and golf as eighth grader due to school’s small enrollment, earning 14 letters. Team captain, leading scorer and all-conference in all three sports. Has played in MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals in each of the past four years, placing third in 2010 and eighth in 2012. Four-year participant in Knights of Columbus Squires, Student Council, Drama Club and as volunteer with Salvation Army. Played French Horn in school band, participated in National Honor Society and various church activities. Will study economics at the University of Notre Dame.
Essay Quote: “In my participation in athletics, one trait has always been deemed most valuable in a competitor: sportsmanship. Every organization seems to champion this virtue. However, it begs the question: what defines sportsmanship, and why does it matter…four years of high school have answered the question for me, and I have had the pleasure of seeing true sportsmanship exemplified.”
Francisco Jay Noyola, Lansing Christian. Won all-state honors in soccer, and also participated in basketball and golf. Team captain in golf and soccer, and won all-conference awards in both. Has made mission trips to Guatemala the past three years and Mexico this year with schoolmates, helping build soccer fields. Member of National Honor Society, Sexually Mature Aware Responsible Team (SMART), Science Olympiad, and is active with church youth group. Plans to attend Hope College and study engineering.
Essay Quote: “Sportsmanship affects the game and the team. Knowing how to handle my emotions has made me a better sport, and having teammates who are good sports makes the game more fun. Sportsmanship is an essential part of educational athletics because it makes sports worth playing.
Other Class D girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Anna Marie Couture, Posen; Sarah Cullip, St. Ignace; Erica LeClaire, Dollar Bay; Christina Smith, Gaylord St. Mary; Kari L. Steenwyk, Ellsworth; and Krysta M. VanDamme, Rock-Mid Peninsula.
Other Class D boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Brett Branstrom, Rock-Mid Peninsula; Matthew R. Katz, Tekonsha; Alexander G. Knight, Lake Linden-Hubbell; Joseph Samuel Paquette, Munising; and Hunter Selby, Genesee Christian.
Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average, and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament. Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
The Class B scholarship award recipients will be announced on February 12, and the Class A honorees will be announced on February 19.
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Boyne City Wants You to Get Rowdy
February 13, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BOYNE CITY – What’s 8 feet tall, full of air and able to bounce on its head?
Just another reason to check out a Boyne City High School sporting event and one of our three finalists for the Battle of the Fans VII championship.
Of course, the Rambler Rowdies’ candidacy to be named Michigan’s top high school cheering student section has a lot more to do with the raucous atmosphere created by a few hundred students who regularly fill the stands to support the teams at one of the state’s smallest Class B schools.
But the introduction this year of Captain Rowdy – a giant inflatable mascot who shows up just about everywhere – is the latest proof of the festive culture that’s taken hold in Rambler country.
“It kinda starts with having enough people at a game to do something,” senior Ethan Hewitt said. “You either need to have a good team or a school that is really involved in making sure people are at the game in the first place to form a cheering section. Then it just takes a couple of kids to get the idea and run with it."
“You just need that spark,” classmate Jake Kelts added, “and once you have that spark, it starts a fire.”
We met with senior section leaders Hewitt, Kelts, Anna Harmeling and Lauren Fitzpatrick prior to the Feb. 2 boys basketball game against Kalkaska to discuss all that is new and “rowdy” with the Rambler Rowdies, one of two return finalists from last year’s BOTF VI.
As with last week’s report on our BOTF finalists tour stop to see Petoskey’s Blue Crew, we’ll follow a format that fits with a typical game night, beginning with the Ramblers’ suggestions for other schools that would like to join in the fun and video from our visit and followed by more of what we enjoyed from one of the state's elite student sections.
Boyne City’s Gameplan
Take some of these tips from the Rambler Rowdies:
• Get organized. Hewitt said that’s the biggest thing Boyne City has learned over the last few years of building a student section. Having regular meetings allows for brainstorming but also helps leaders form a plan for what they need to accomplish.
• Hit social media hard. Sections should assign at least two social media leaders who will not only post regular updates about theme nights and other announcements, but also take advantage of social media – like posting on the school’s Facebook page if permission is granted – to reach out to parents.
• Bring in the community. The student cheering section is for the students, but parents and other neighbors enjoy supporting the students as they offer support for their teams. Anything from inviting a well-known person in town on social media (“Hey Mr. Smith, we know you have those parachute pants from high school. Come to ‘80s night!”) to sending out section-themed game night alerts to parents on the automated snow day message system can generate excitement.
• Earn administrators’ trust. We have heard this on just about every BOTF visit over the years, and it’s true – if principals and athletic directors are in the loop, they can provide more opportunities and help. And if administrators trust student section leaders, the possibilities to try something new are endless.
Pregame Prep
After last year making the BOTF Finals for the first time, Boyne City section leaders discussed what they needed to improve to win the title. Their findings: more community involvement, more younger student involvement and something that not only created a great atmosphere but made the Rowdies different from every other section in Michigan.
Enter the superhero, thanks in part to the goat.
The driving force behind the Rambler Rowdies is “Rambler Sports Network,” a daily visual imaging/arts and broadcasting class. Not only do RSN students film events all over the school, but section leaders are able to use class time to help build game night atmosphere – which at the end of last school year meant working with teacher Randy Calcaterra to create Captain Rowdy, a distant cousin to the Harlem Globetrotters’ mascot Globie.
Deciding a superhero character would be more useful than a bouncing wheel (for Rambler, a car built during the early 1900s), section leaders set to work. Fitzpatrick and senior Hailey Fogo designed a logo. Together, the group decided on Captain Rowdy’s name. And they also added the jersey number “130” on his back, signifying the senior class, which will be the 130th this spring to go through the high school.
Captain Rowdy was ordered in June. Only five people knew about it until September, when the rest of the RSN class was brought in on the secret. They kept it quiet until October, when Captain Rowdy was unveiled during the annual “Spirit Day” activities as part of Homecoming week.
But a local goat was among those who made it possible. Captain Rowdy was expensive – which led to various fundraisers, with one surely among the most memorable. As noted, section leaders had wanted to get middle school students more involved this year – so, based on another school’s idea overheard at November’s MHSAA Sportsmanship Summit in Marquette, the Rowdies asked their middle schoolers to raise a certain amount of money in exchange for their principal kissing a goat.
(That dare was just part of outreach done to get the school’s next classes of Rambler Rowdies involved. See more in this video from the BOTF “Challenge Round.”)
Meanwhile, as Spirit Day approached, RSN students hung pictures of Captain Rowdy’s chest logo and “CR” belt buckle around the school to provide a little hint of what was coming. (Another memorable moment: The day before the unveiling, they set off the school’s smoke alarms testing pyrotechnics.)
Finally, the moment came that was four months in the making. The curtains opened (on second try) and there was Captain Rowdy, worn by Kelts, for all to see.
“It’s a crazy day,” Harmeling recalled. “Everybody loves it. So we brought everybody into the auditorium … and this year, all the lights went down and we had this whole setup – we had fire and smoke and lights that were timed up to the music.”
“It was just a complete shock,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ … He was just standing still. So nobody knew he was about to move. So he jumped off and was running through the crowd.”
And that was just the beginning of the fun.
“The endless amount of possibilities you can do with him just generates so much fun,” Hewitt said. “And everyone is like, ‘Oh, what’s Captain Rowdy going to do this week?’”
Game Time
Section leaders watched the MHSAA video from last year’s “Fright Night” visit and made it a goal to make every game night that extra level of exciting.
Basketball is where it’s at in Boyne City. The school’s lone home wrestling meet had to be canceled, and the Rowdies were planning on attending the first-year bowling team’s only home meet – but for the most part winter sports mean nights in the gym.
Just before this hoops tip-off, the Rowdies got Kalkaska involved as well. The pregame introductions started with a halfcourt boxing match between Captain Rowdy and the “Baron of Bad Sportsmanship” under the spotlight. But then, for player introductions, starting lineups for both teams were announced in the spotlight as well – a nice touch, considering that’s usually only reserved for the home team’s players. Free admission also was given to students from both schools, and the “Wheelhouse” was packed.
Of course, Captain Rowdy was a big focus of fun for the Rowdies – with “Rowdy Ball” and the “Captain Rowdy Dance” among activities filling in quarter and halftime breaks. But when the game was on, the section was all in – and charged up to help pull out a close 54-49 win over the rival Blazers.
What do you do during Quarter Breaks at Rambler Games? Watch a thrilling game of Rowdy Ball of course! BCHS Student Section, the place to be!
https://t.co/A0xXFiJepQ via @YouTube— RSN (@TEAMBCVI) January 27, 2018
A big takeaway from our 2017 trip to Boyne City was how students there, like most schools, are involved in a variety of sport and non-sport activities – but the Rowdies try to get them all out for game nights.
Wearing Captain Rowdy for most of them is senior Quentin Nottage, a major contributor in the school’s drama productions – but according to section leaders, not a regular at basketball games before taking on his new alter ego.
“(Non-sports fans) just never go to the games, so they think, ‘Oh, it’s just a basketball game. I’m not going to go,’” Kelts explained. “If we can get them to go to one game, they see how fun it is. Because it’s not just a basketball game. They see that and they’re like, ‘Wow, I want to come to every single game.’”
Postgame Analysis
Some just come to dance: “A lot of our chants are for the Ramblers, but it’s beat-oriented. You’re cheering for your team, but at the same time it’s super-fun to do the chant. Because you’re jumping around, having a great time.”
Worth the Battle: “Battle of the Fans has really just changed the culture in this school too,” Kelts said. “Everyone knows me as a leader of the student section, and a teacher will come up to me and say, ‘Good job last night.’ You mention Battle of the Fans and everyone here knows what you’re talking about. They know it’s going to be super fun. It’s brought everyone together.”
Worth the investment: “We want the games to be really fun and interesting, so we have money from (RSN) sponsorships going into what we can do to make the games interesting. We had money set aside for (something like Captain Rowdy) that had been gathering. So we were like, ‘Hey, this looks really good. And this would make being in the gym epic.’”
Rowdy-ness will live on: “Even though Jake and I lead chants for the most part, everyone is so involved. At its best, I think it’s more of a group thing. As long as there’s a group of people doing it, it’s going to keep happening. A leader will always emerge.”
Next stop on BOTF: We'll finish the 2018 BOTF tour at Buchanan for Friday’s boys basketball game against Berrien Springs. The report from that visit will publish on Second Half next Monday, with our social media vote beginning the next day, Feb. 20, and the champion announced Feb. 23. Click to see our report on Petoskey’s Blue Crew.
The Battle of the Fans is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
PHOTOS: (Top) Boyne City senior Ethan Hewitt leads the roller coaster during a Feb. 2 basketball game against Kalkaska. (Middle) Captain Rowdy, the latest addition to the Rambler Rowdies. (Photos by Boyne City Visual Imaging.)