Scholars & Athletes 2019: Class B
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 11, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association has selected eight student-athletes from Class B member schools to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.
Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 30th year of sponsoring the award, will give $1,000 college scholarships to 32 individuals who represent their member schools 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 who can come from any classification.
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.
Each of the scholarship recipients will be honored at a halftime ceremony during the Class C Boys Basketball Final, March 16, at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing. Commemorative medallions will be given to the finalists in recognition of their accomplishments.
The Class B Scholar-Athlete Award honorees are: Lauren Anderson, Charlotte; Chloe Bartz, Edwardsburg; Olivia Haring, Clare; Zoe Neirink, Frankenmuth; Noah Doederlein, Carleton Airport; Justin Luo, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Pierce Morrissey, Big Rapids; and Connor Swinehart, Newaygo.
Overviews of the scholarship recipients of the Class B Scholar-Athlete Award follow. A quote from each recipient's essay also is included:
Lauren Anderson, Charlotte
Played fourth season of varsity basketball, played four of varsity volleyball and will run her fourth of track & field this spring. Earned all-league recognition in volleyball and academic all-league honors multiple seasons in all three sports plus academic all-state in basketball and volleyball. Served as captain of volleyball and basketball teams. Will graduate high school with 24 college credits and carries a 4.0 GPA. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and earned Distinguished Scholar Award from Oakland University. Participating in fourth years of marching band, symphony band and drumline and has served as the percussion section leader and lead snare in those respective groups. Volunteers in youth basketball and volleyball camps and serves as middle school track timer, and earned Junior Rotarian award. Will attend Oakland and study nursing.
Essay Quote: “High school athletics are a minefield. With the pressure of school and other commitments, we rarely have time to think outside ourselves, and that becomes a problem when one’s emotions are not taken into account. When people get stressed or anxious, we don’t perform to the best of our abilities; we lag in our skills. When we get to that point, we need someone to be there, to yank us back from that ledge, to remind us that we are not alone, to give us confidence in our ability to perform as an athlete.”
Chloe Bartz, Edwardsburg
Playing fourth season of varsity basketball, ran four of cross country and will participate in fourth of track & field this spring. Qualified for MHSAA Finals three times in track and holds school record as part of 3,200-meter relay. Helped basketball team to two league and two District titles and best finish in school history. Served as captain of all three teams and earned scholar athlete awards all four years. Serving fourth year on student council with two as vice president and participating in second year of National Honor Society with one as treasurer. Participating in third years on youth advisory council and yearbook staff – with two as editor – and fourth year as part of Students Against Destructive Decisions chapter with two as chairperson. Earned regional first place and qualified for state competition twice as part of Science Olympiad team. Will attend Loyola University Chicago and study biochemistry.
Essay Quote: “Sports are often said to reveal character, but I am of the opinion they build it. As student athletes we are reminded daily of the effort, time and passion needed to succeed on the sports field as well as in the classroom. It’s essential for sportsmanship to be practiced as much as a jump shot, for at the end of the game it won’t be a person’s last-second shot you remember in 20 years.”
Olivia Haring, Clare
Playing third season of varsity basketball, ran four of cross country and will participate in fourth of track & field this spring; also played junior varsity softball as a freshman. Qualified for MHSAA Finals in cross country all four seasons and track her first three and helped those teams to a combined seven league championships. Earned all-conference, all-region and academic all-conference and all-state honors in those two sports, and has served as captain of all three of her varsity teams. Serving fourth year on student council and as student body president, and fourth year as part of Business Professionals of America and as co-president. Qualified for state BPA competition. Participating in second year of National Honor Society and has served as treasurer. Earned Presidential Scholarship and named Junior Business Student of the Year both by Northwood and carries a 3.96 GPA while dually enrolled at Mid Michigan College. Led fundraiser that collected more than $1,000 for breast cancer awareness. Will attend Northwood University and study finance with the intention of earning a master’s in business administration.
Essay Quote: “The high stakes of competitive athletics demand excellent sportsmanship. Failure to meet such expectations can be detrimental to the athlete, team and community. Witnessing unsportsmanlike conduct prompted positive change in my hometown.”
Zoe Neirink, Frankenmuth
Ran four years of varsity cross country and will play her fourth of varsity soccer this spring. Served as captain of cross country team and qualified for MHSAA Finals in that sport all four seasons. Earned all-league recognition in both sports and all-state in soccer. Earned AP Scholar with Honor recognition and participates in National Honor Society. Competing in fourth years of quiz bowl and Science Olympiad; earned all-league honors and served as team captain for quiz bowl and medaled in regional competition and served as vice president for Science Olympiad. Playing fourth year in marching band and second as part of pit orchestra and served as marching band pit percussion section leader. Participating in volunteer and community service efforts and as part of 2019 Graduation Committee as selected by her teachers. Will attend Kenyon College in Ohio and study English, and intends to pursue a law degree.
Essay Quote: “The workload of being a student-athlete can be taxing, but things become easier when one stops regarding school and sports as two separate things. I see the same respect in my teammates cheering for all the runners in a cross country race as I do in a student helping another study for a hard test. The things that make us good students, good sports, and good people are all interwoven.”
Noah Doederlein, Carleton Airport
Ran four seasons of varsity cross country and will run his fourth of track & field; also played junior varsity basketball as a sophomore. Earned all-league and all-academic honors for cross country and helped track team to conference championship in 2018. Earned AP Scholar with Distinction. Served as a team captain of both varsity teams, taking part as well on school’s Captains Council. Serving as class president for third year and also president of National Honor Society chapter. Served on Monroe County Youth Leadership Board and Monroe County 4-H Council. Selected for the 4-H State Youth Leadership Council and 4-H Capitol Experience Steering Committee, and as part of Michigan delegation to multiple national events. Participating in fourth year of Interact club and third of Michigan Youth Leadership (MYLead), and earned multiple local awards for academics and community involvement and also a 2017 Michigan Key Club Award. Will attend Michigan State University and study political science.
Essay Quote: “The communication, teamwork, and goal-setting skills that accompany educational athletics are inherent, while hard work and dedication teach students integrity. But, when poor sportsmanship infects athletics, the lessons being taught are misconstrued. When players, parents, and coaches begin to attack, taunt, or humiliate competitors, petty differences become more important than the skills players are attempting to learn.”
Justin Luo, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Played four seasons of varsity tennis, helping team to three MHSAA Finals and Regional championships and earning an individual league title playing singles. Earned all-state and all-league honors and served as team captain. Participating in fourth year of debate and earned one gold and three silver bids to national Tournament of Champions. Qualified for National Catholic Forensics League Tournament and National Speech and Debate Association Tournament, and was named top speaker at 2017 debate state championship. Playing fourth year of clarinet for school’s band, orchestra and pit orchestra and has earned a number of solo/ensemble prizes and served as concertmaster. Participating in third year of American Youth Leadership Foundation and fourth tutoring as part of school’s Horizons Upward Bound program. Serves as president of Horizons and as Peer2Peer student leader. Will attend Princeton University and study operations research and financial engineering.
Essay Quote: “When sportsmanship is not upheld, people begin to solely focus on winning and forget why we play sports. Cheating offers an easy escape for players to avoid dealing with adversity and learning a valuable lesson. Rather than have fun and build friendships, people become angry and are hurt. I have felt the pain firsthand and would not want that for anyone else. Thus, we must preserve sportsmanship in order to maintain the educational value of athletics.”
Pierce Morrissey, Big Rapids
Will play fourth year of varsity golf this spring and has served as captain every season, and also played varsity basketball as a junior and varsity tennis as a freshman. Earned all-state golf honors his first three seasons and made all-state “Super Team” the last two as one of the top golfers regardless of division. Won Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final individual championship in 2018. Serving fourth year on student council and Mecosta County Youth Advisory Council and second on MHSAA’s Student Advisory Council. Also serving fourth year on school’s Athletic Leadership Council and Climate Crew. Participating in fourth year of Project Outreach and this year as president, and was class representative for Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter as freshman and sophomore. Participates in a number of volunteer projects including as mentor for youth golf. Will attend Michigan State University and study business.
Essay Quote: “A fundamental standard of educational athletics, sportsmanship is a code to separate the good athletes from exceptional athletes. A true "sportsman" has no room in their heart for selfish ambition. Of course, this selflessness doesn't happen in the blink of an eye. Most student-athletes would admit that their younger version of themselves had an abundance of maturing to do to become who they are today as a senior athlete.”
Connor Swinehart, Newaygo
Playing third season of varsity basketball, played three of varsity football and will play third of varsity baseball this spring. Earned all-league honors a total of five times and all-state recognition in basketball, and all-state academic honors in baseball. Served as team captain multiple seasons for all three sports. Served three years as student council president and is participating in second year of National Honor Society. Has earned all As throughout high school. Participates is a variety of sports-related and community volunteer projects including as a peer math tutor. Will attend University of Michigan and study biomedical engineering.
Essay Quote: “I knew I could finish the game, but another victory meant more for me than the actual win. Sitting in the dugout was a teammate of mine who has stuck with baseball his whole life and loves the game with all of his heart. He is a special education student with disabilities, which limits him from consistent playing time, but that does not mean he cannot throw the ball. My teammate has one of the biggest arms on the team. … I tell (my coach) I want (my teammate) to finish the game. I want him to get the victory. He deserves the victory. … These are the moments where sportsmanship is important. Putting a teammate’s needs and desires before your own.”
Other Class B girls finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Kamryn Cushway, Big Rapids; Salena Prakah-Asante, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Eleri Giem, Boyne City; Daisy Ansel, Comstock; Sarah Bidgood, Comstock Park; 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; and Mallory Kean, Yale.
Other Class B boys finalists for the Scholar-Athlete Award were: Sam Bussler, Battle Creek Harper Creek; Clark Doman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Alex Netzley, Cadillac; Adam Bruce, Gladstone; Jack Perry, Michigan Center; Michael Gormley, North Branch; Isaac Waffle, Olivet; Tommee Smith, Sparta; Cooper Clark, Stevensville Lakeshore; Dillon Mochty, Tawas; Dylan Day, Tecumseh; and Ethan McKenzie, Whitehall.
The Class C and Class D scholarship award recipients were announced Feb. 5, and the Class A honorees will be announced Feb. 19.
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.
No Place Buchanan’s Herd Would Rather Be
February 17, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BUCHANAN – Cailin Gunn was new at Buchanan entering eighth grade, and she was shy. What’s more, eighth graders in her district are housed in the same building as the high schoolers, which understandably could be intimidating.
She went to only one basketball game that season, in 2013-14. But the wall of Bucks cheering on their team easily caught her attention.
And then Jessica Lee, another eighth grader that year, and her friends invited Gunn to join the “Herd” – at that point the reigning Battle of the Fans II champion.
“She was scared, and we all took her in,” Lee said. “Because I know it is scary going to a new school. So the Herd was like, we’re open to everyone. Everybody come join.”
Also an eighth-grader at that time, Kevin Frost was tucked into a top corner of “The Woods” as section leaders whose names remain easy to recall helped Buchanan’s become an example to be followed statewide.
“We just got to see them in action. It was just amazing to watch,” said Frost, who with Lee and Gunn is among current Herd leaders. “I don’t know how to describe it. When we won on a buzzer beater at the ‘Mean Stinks’ game – just to be part of that; it’s come full circle. To be down leading everyone else, it’s indescribable.”
The tradition indeed lives on. The MHSAA’s visit to Buchanan for Friday’s boys basketball game against Berrien Springs was its fourth in seven years of Battle of the Fans and the last of three finalists tour stops for this year’s BOTF VII.
We met with section leaders Gunn, Lee, Frost, fellow seniors Madison Schau and Kenneth Stuckey and junior Garret Lollar to learn more about how they’ve both carried on and added to the Herd’s legacy.
As with our first two finalists tour reports on Petoskey’s Blue Crew and Boyne City’s Rambler Rowdies, below is our review of an evening hanging with the Bucks. Following again the format of a typical game night, we begin with the Herd’s suggestions for other student sections getting started and video from our visit and then tell more of the story behind a group that continues to rock the bleachers.
Buchanan’s Gameplan
Take some of these tips from Buchanan’s Herd:
• Be positive – in planning and performance. It all starts with the right attitude, Lollar said, and that starts with the process behind the scenes and carries over to the fun in the stands.
• Don’t be scared. That advice covers a number of scenarios. Don’t be scared to come to a student section meeting with older classmates or many you don’t know. Don’t be scared to share your opinion. And never be scared to dance with your section when the rest of the crowd is watching.
• Make it all about fun. The more fun you’re having, the more tightly-knit your section will become.
• Work together. The Herd has a large group of leaders, but they work to make all of their individual ideas mesh together. That allows them to collect a lot of great ones – and keep everyone in a large group engaged as well.
Pregame Prep
As an established section for most of this decade, the Herd generally enters a school year with a running start.
Tradition and expectations are set, thanks in part to a group of teachers who are passionate about facilitating whatever the Herd needs to be at its best. But students continue to show as well – it’s the usual this year to have 30 or more at the section’s regular meetings.
The Herd from its beginnings at the start of this decade has been about immersing itself in the community. That’s included a lot of things over the years, including being asked to attend events in town that have little to do with the school’s athletics. But it begins with becoming a fabric of the entire school district, which starts in part with section leaders holding “traveling pep rallies” to teach cheers to elementary and middle school students. (The video below was submitted as part of the BOTF "Challenge Round.")
@MHSAA #BOTF Social Media Challenge #20 YOUTH: How does BHS spread spirit & encourage our Little Bucks? We visit every school in the district with “Traveling Pep Rallies.” We teach them cheers & spread our Buck Pride across all ages! ??♥? pic.twitter.com/w059Bs4qF2
— The Herd (@TheHerd_BHS) January 16, 2018
At one traveling pep rally, Gunn and her fifth-grade sister led a cheer together. Another poignant moment unfolded when kids ran up to Lee later on because they recognized her from a pep rally and wanted to show her some of the cheers they’d learned.
“They saw me as a leader, and I like to be a leader,” Lee said. “And I think that’s another thing I like about the Herd: I see myself in them. I was you once, and now I’m … the people who led it before.”
For this year’s application video, the Herd rallied its classmates during the final days before holiday break to shoot a lip dub. Leaders went that route because they wanted to offer something that hadn’t been done as part of BOTF before – but also, the lip dub allowed them to show off more than just a basketball game night. The run through the school’s hallways included appearances by a number of sports teams, school clubs and social groups that all have some ownership in the section.
Herd leaders have an inside joke that while the section has always been good, it went through some “dark ages” before experiencing a “renaissance” this year. This BOTF candidacy is topping things off.
“I feel like this has been our entire high school (career),” Schau said. “We’ve been part of the Herd since we got into the high school. … It’s something we’ve always done, all the way through. So our passion’s really strong this year.”
Game Time
“Tonight for sure, you’re going to see some bad dancing,” Stuckey said. “I’m one of them, but we’re going to let it all out.”
The Woods are alive from before tip-off until long after the final buzzer. There are plenty of traditions – the speaker system pipes in music during quarter breaks and halftimes for a full section dance party, and during play the cheers and chants are ones the Herd has made regulars over the years – and taught to all of those younger students coming up so they’re ready to step in as high schoolers.
Community indeed runs deep. On this night, Buchanan’s 1977-78 Class C champion boys basketball team was featured for a halftime reunion. As would make sense, the Herd wasn’t really involved – but then received a giant shout-out at the end of the ceremony from retired coach Mike Rouse.
A few other things that stuck out on this night: Halftime kicked off with a full section conga line around the gym. And as it’s done since 2012-13, the Herd finished the night after the game had ended singing a song from the stands with the team and many from the community filling the floor.
Also recognizable were faces in other sections of the gym of at least a few alums we’d seen in years past. That support is ongoing – the Herd has received quite a bit of social media action from past grads sharing their pride. They’ve also seen it from visiting fans and even an opposing player who said his school’s student section needed to step up to Buchanan’s level.
The Woods has been shaking things up quite a bit this winter. On the road at places like Niles Brandywine, where it joined that school’s “Pink Out.” Supporting other teams besides basketball, including wrestling and competitive cheer. Unifying with the boys basketball team on Tie-Dye Night, when Bucks players also hit the court dressed to match. Herd leaders are even planning to have a spring cheering section for the first time, supporting those often-forgotten teams as well.
Some Herd leaders weren’t psyched at first with Lollar’s suggestion of Clean Bandit’s “Rather Be” as the soundtrack for the lip dub – they were hoping for something currently popular. But the 2014 jam has grown into this year’s anthem. And Friday, it seemed like no one wanted to go home when the game was done.
“This is really important to us,” Gunn said, “and we really live that saying – there’s no place we’d rather be.”
Postgame Analysis
Please join us: “Instead of coming into high school and it being scary, terrifying, like (these are) bigger people than you, it’s an inviting thing,” Lollar said. “Because you get to have fun with a bunch of people you usually wouldn’t hang out with. In the student section, I stand next to freshmen I don’t talk to (otherwise) ever. But I’m friends with them because we have this.”
Leave a legacy: “I notice when we go on our traveling pep rallies, we see these kids at the elementary school – they’re not even higher than my knee,” Schau said. “And they know the cheers. I don’t know if I was that age and knew how to cheer, but they know the cheers by heart. That’s what makes me want to do it – because those kids know every single cheer. You just grow up. They know now. They know what to do.”
Shy no more: “All of the positivity and all of these people showed me there’s no reason to be scared,” Gunn said. “Something I learned and something other people should learn is you won’t be embarrassed (because) everyone else is doing it around you. It’s a lot of fun.”
We will remember this forever: “It’s something we get to remember (from) high school,” Stuckey said. “There are many kids who can’t be like, ‘We had a student section and we were able to lead it.’ And it’s nice we’re able to say that. The Herd is a family; we’re not just people who know each other, we’re not just a student section. We all care about each other, and it’s nice to have a family away from your real family.”
Next on BOTF: The Buchanan visit concluded this year’s BOTF finalists tour. Beginning Tuesday, fans all over the state may vote for the student section they think should win this year’s contest. Check out Second Half on Tuesday for instructions on how to vote on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The champion will be announced Feb. 23.
Click to see our reports on Petoskey’s Blue Crew and Boyne City’s Rambler Rowdies.
The Battle of the Fans is sponsored in part by the United Dairy Industry of Michigan.
PHOTOS: (Top) Buchanan's "Herd" cheers during Friday's boys basketball game against Berrien Springs. (Middle) Classmates follow the beat as Kevin Frost plays drums during a break in the action. (Photos courtesy of Buchanan's yearbook staff.)