Five Ann Arbor athletes among finalists for MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Awards
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Five local athletes were among the 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2019-20 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance.
Local student-athletes were: Lydia Valtadoros, Ann Arbor Pioneer; Vaughn Hajra, Ann Arbor Pioneer; Owen Rennich, Ann Arbor Pioneer; Alexandra Montgomery, Ann Arbor Huron; and Gabriel Seir, Ann Arbor Greenhills.
The program, in its 31st 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 $1,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 800 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, 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. Midland Dow has four finalists this year while Cass City and Ann Arbor Pioneer each have three. Seventeen schools each have two finalists: Ada Forest Hills Eastern, Battle Creek Lakeview, Caro, Chelsea, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Fowler, Grosse Ile, Haslett, Hastings, Holland, Ida, North Muskegon, Petersburg Summerfield, Richland Gull Lake, St. Johns, Three Oaks River Valley and Troy Athens.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.5. There are 86 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but one of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 424 schools which submitted applicants, 12 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,493 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 at www.mhsaa.com/schools/students/scholarathleteaward.aspx.
The applications were judged by a 66-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. 4, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 11 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 18. 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 MHSAA Division 3 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 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.
2019-20 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Alexandra Montgomery, Ann Arbor Huron
Lara Janosz, Bloomfield Hills
Madelyn Crandell, Byron Center
Jayne Flynn, Richland Gull Lake
Grace Foster, Richland Gull Lake
Morgan Cooper, Hartland
Brenna Bailey, Haslett
Kaitlyn Stid, Holland
Mónica Ruiz, Holly
Kayla Wolma, Hudsonville
Ericka Asmus, Marquette
Sasha Konovalenko, Midland Dow
Maddie Sermak, Okemos
Kylie Ray, Pinckney
Lydia Valtadoros, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Anusha Tekumulla, Port Huron Northern
Rachel Gamm, Rockford
Erin Middleton, St Johns
Eliza Alushi, Livonia Stevenson
Raegan McNamara, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Elizabeth Saunders, Traverse City Central
Shaelie McClain, Troy Athens
Lauren Tarnowsky, Waterford Mott
Lucy Borski, Holland West Ottawa
BOYS CLASS A
Skyler Sebring, Battle Creek Lakeview
Vikram Strander, Battle Creek Lakeview
Jack Spamer, Brighton
DJ Dixon, Birmingham Brother Rice
Nathan Sesti, Clarkston
Ethan Price, Warren Cousino
Caleb White, Detroit Catholic Central
Luke Sayler, Dexter
Logan Canada, Fenton
George Graham, Grosse Pointe North
Nathaniel Holcomb, Haslett
Benjamin Boss, Saginaw Heritage
Jonah Gilmore, Holland
Tej Kothari, Jenison
Sean Anderson, Midland Dow
Saketh Kamaraju, Midland Dow
Anish Middha, Midland Dow
Brandon Liu, Northville
Vaughn Hajra, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Owen Rennich, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Malcolm Gaynor, Portage Northern
Peter Apostol, St Johns
Davis DiGiovanni, Troy Athens
Shadrach Cunningham, Lansing Waverly
GIRLS CLASS B
Baylee Martens, Battle Creek Pennfield
Delaney Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn
Olivia Prodin, Chelsea
Elizabeth Norris, Corunna
Eleanor Kwartowitz, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Alicia Kanai, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Tara Keller, Frankenmuth
Grace Beardsley, Gladwin
Hannah Fulmer, Grosse Ile
Hannah Johnson, Hastings
Elizabeth Hovest, Ida
Sheridan Leinbach, Lansing Eastern
Katelynn Ceccacci, Ortonville-Brandon
Abbey Almeda, Plainwell
Katherine Topoleski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Faith Schafer, Williamston
BOYS CLASS B
Brice Austin, Alma
Jacob Herman, Berrien Springs
Isaac Joslyn, Caro
Trevin Phillips, Caro
Joseph Norwood, Chelsea
Jack Fairman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Chris Lilly, Croswell-Lexington
Gabriel Hassan, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Ben Lankfer, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Lucas Kopp, Grosse Ile
William Roosien, Hastings
Samuel Beach, Hillsdale
James (Alex) Mitchell, Holland Christian
Hunter Assenmacher, Ida
Jorden Sowash, Owosso
Andrew Innerebner, Sault Ste. Marie
GIRLS CLASS C
Anna Laurenz, Breckenridge
Alanna Mayer, Bronson
Makayla Fletcher, Clinton
Lauren Schnicke, Kent City
Kayla Moore, Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Grace Tylutki, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
Isabella Santiago-Lindsay, North Muskegon
Ellie DuVall, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Ellary Pachulski, Saranac
Allyson Kemp, Unionville-Sebewaing
Madelyn Koski, Ishpeming Westwood
Olivia Bowman, White Cloud
BOYS CLASS C
Hutson Hohlbein, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Jared Gottschalk, Beal City
Kendall Anthes, Cass City
Sandyn Cuthrell, Cass City
Drew Markel, Cass City
Gabriel Seir, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Giovanni Basanese, Iron Mountain
Jack Pedlar, Lake City
Riley McKenna, Lakeview
John Hayhurst, North Muskegon
Brendan Dafoe, Petersburg Summerfield
Noah Dusseau, Petersburg Summerfield
GIRLS CLASS D
Teegan Dawson, Bellaire
Josie Koenigsknecht, Fowler
Colleen McCarthy, Onekama
Emma Engler, Peck
Kaitlyn Bricker, Pellston
Isabel Mossel, Plymouth Christian
Samantha Teachworth, Portland St. Patrick
Emma Springer, Three Oaks River Valley
BOYS CLASS D
Tony Piggott, Fowler
Ramy Abueita, Genesee
Alex Sutten, Marion
Lesley Armah, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart
Adam Paga, Petoskey St. Michael Academy
James Storey, Pickford
Opie Bryce, Suttons Bay
Matthew Schmidt, Three Oaks River Valley
