Finalists Announced for 2024-25 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Awards

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jan. 21 – ​The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2024-25 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.

In its 36th year, the program 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, 960 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 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. Birmingham Seaholm has six finalists this year, Munising and Whitehall have four, and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, Midland Dow, and West Bloomfield each have three finalists. Eight schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Greenhills, Ann Arbor Huron, Bloomfield Hills, Detroit Catholic Central, Grosse Pointe South, Kingsford, Olivet, and Saline.

Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.88. There are 75 three-plus sport participants in the finalist’s field, and all but one of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.

Of 431 schools that submitted applicants, 25 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,513 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievements. Additional Scholar-Athlete Award information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the Scholar-Athlete page at https://www.mhsaa.com/about/awards/scholar-athlete-award

The applications were judged by a 65-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 on Feb. 4, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced on Feb. 1,1 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced on Feb. 18. 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 and 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.

2024-25 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists

GIRLS CLASS A

Clara Freeth, Ann Arbor Huron

Katherine Ma, Ann Arbor Huron

Avery Allen, Birmingham Seaholm

Ella Gifford, Birmingham Seaholm

Grace Johnson-Sears, Birmingham Seaholm

Selina Lin, Birmingham Seaholm

Madeline Day, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Sophia Y. Tang, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Sydney Law, Byron Center

Nadine Fayad, Dearborn

Alaa Selman, Dearborn Heights Crestwood

Eleni Michos, Dexter

Grace Tykocki, Grand Blanc

Kylie Pung, Howell

Bomin Koo, Jenison

Kortney Osborn, Mason

Ayesha Middha, Midland Dow

Chikanma Okoisor, Midland Dow

Tara Creekmore, Plymouth

Katherine McLaughlin, Portage Central

Grace Roth, Saline

Madeline Bildeaux, Traverse City West

Carly Lyons, West Bloomfield

Natalie Weissman, West Bloomfield

BOYS CLASS A

Sean Wesolek, Bay City John Glenn

Milan Patel, Birmingham Seaholm

Carson J. Wright, Birmingham Seaholm

Noah Kaplan, Bloomfield Hills

Asher Langwell, Bloomfield Hills

Calvin Meeker, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood

Nicholas Leiter, Detroit Catholic Central

Peter Sanin, Detroit Catholic Central

Lucas Groulx, Flint Kearsley

Elijah Lipke, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central

Gruhith Yerramalli, Grosse Pointe North

Jack J. Lupo, Grosse Pointe South

James Michelotti, Grosse Pointe South

Joseph Spada, Kalamazoo Central

Andrew Creedon, Livonia Churchill

Nimai Patel, Midland Dow

Cameron McVittie, Northville

Nathan Beemer, Okemos

Drew F. Cady, Oxford

Hunter Easton, Saline

Auben Wesley, South Lyon

Owen Przybylski, Temperance Bedford

Asher Paul, Traverse City Central

Brady Scheidt, West Bloomfield

GIRLS CLASS B

Hannah Lee, Ann Arbor Greenhills

Eleana Zhuang, Ann Arbor Greenhills

Madison Cole, Battle Creek Pennfield

Addison Seemann, Freeland

Lauren Sundquist, Gladstone

Sierra Grooters, Hudsonville Unity Christian

Madelynn Kreider, Kingsford

Nadia Marie Grierson, Ludington

Anna Catherine Boggs, Monroe Jefferson

Marlee Plaxco, Negaunee

Hailey Dodd, Parma Western

Alaina Hanson, Reed City

Alexandrea Komarowski, St. Clair

Scarlet Maison, Standish-Sterling

Camille Kraai, Whitehall

Grace McDowell, Whitehall

BOYS CLASS B

Maxwell Volk, Chesaning

Alan Mrva, Corunna

Isaak E. Rubley, Dundee

Brayden Joslin, Durand

Brayden Bryan Lape, Grass Lake

Corbin Allen, Grayling

Oliver Costello, Haslett

Jayse Peterson, Hastings

Caden James VanHuis, Holland Christian

Gavin J. Trevillian, Kingsford

Nicholas Caldwell, North Branch

Benjamin Kelenske, Olivet

Blair Scott, Olivet

Owen T. Feldpausch, Owosso

Ryan Goodrich, Whitehall

Brady Tate, Whitehall

GIRLS CLASS C

Baylee Goddard, Alcona

Kaylee A. Kranz, Clinton

Kelcie Jo Pung, Fowler

Alexyn DuBois, Hanover-Horton

Grace Hayhurst, Harbor Springs

Allie Nowak, Johannesburg-Lewiston

Dayne Behning, Munising

Kate Mattson, Munising

Ashlyn Orr, New Lothrop

Summer L. Pomaville, Pinconning

Tess Tillman, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic

Makayla Zelinko, St. Charles

BOYS CLASS C

Lucas Hall, Bark River-Harris

Owen Heath, Bridgman

Jason Zarate, Brighton Charyl Stockwell Prep

Matthew Mellendorf, Cass City

Korbyn Russell, East Jordan

Isaiah Kabban, Harbor Beach

Carson Kienitz, Munising

Trevor Nolan, Munising

Ian Weldon, Reese

Ben Denlinger, Roscommon

Wheatley Rodammer, Saginaw Valley Lutheran

Landon Pestrue, St. Louis

GIRLS CLASS D

Keira Jean Graham, Bessemer

Molly Coppens, Chesterfield Austin Catholic

Sarah Bradley, Clarkston Everest Collegiate

Ella Grace Gasperich, Crystal Falls Forest Park

Leah Durfee, Fife Lake Forest Area

Ella Knudsen, Leland

Mallory Rich, Muskegon Catholic Central

Kaitlyn Miros, Saginaw Nouvel 

BOYS CLASS D

Seth Davis, Adrian Lenawee Christian

Owen Plum, Britton Deerfield

Joshua Gaunt, Dollar Bay

Dakota Malek, Fulton

Andrew Spiegel, Hillsdale Academy

Carter Kosinski, Kinde North Huron

Alex Tyndall, Mason County Eastern

Grady Pieratt, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *