The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2023-24 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 35th 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 pledges Scholar-Athlete Awards and will provide a $2,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 928 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be awarded proportionally by school classification, with 12 scholarships being awarded to Division I 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; Four scholarships will be awarded to Class D student-athletes, two male and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded overall to minority recipients, regardless of school size.
Each MHSAA member high school can submit multiple applications as there are scholarships available in their classification and can have more than one finalist. Ann Arbor Greenhills, Birmingham Seaholm, East Grand Rapids, Manistee and Midland Dow have three finalists this year. Seven schools have two finalists: Pell City, Bretton-Deerfield, Dearborn, Mason, Northville, Oxford and Traver City West.
Participation in multiple sports remains the norm among applicants. The average sports participation GPA for finalists is 2.88. There are 77 sports participants with more than three in the field of finalists, and all but two of the 28 MHSAA-sponsored sports are represented in the postseason tournaments.
Of the 445 schools that applied, 28 submitted the maximum allowed. 1,607 applications were received this year. All applicants will be awarded commemorative certificates for their achievements. Additional information about the Scholar-Athlete Award, including the complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the Scholar-Athlete page.
Applications were judged by a 65-member panel of school coaches, counselors, faculty, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. The 32 scholarship recipients will be selected in early February. Category C and D scholarship recipients will be announced on February 6, Category B scholarship recipients will be announced on February 13, and Category A scholarship recipients will be announced on February 20. All announcements will be announced on the MHSAA website.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and have previously won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students were also 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. These values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is called the insurance company of Michigan, dedicated to protecting the farms, families and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau insurance agents across Michigan offer a full range of insurance services – Life, Home, Auto, Farm, Business, Retirement, Lake Estate®, and more – protecting Michigan’s nearly 500,000 policyholders.
The MHSAA is a private, non-profit corporation with a voluntary membership of more than 1,500 public and private high schools and junior high/middle schools that exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars supported the MHSAA, which was the first association of its kind nationally not to accept membership fees or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools with these rules are allowed to participate in the MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.3 million spectators each year.
2023-24 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
Girls Class A
Yan Yi Adler, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Bella Adams, Battle Creek Lakeview
Catherine Slaczynski, Birmingham Seaholm
Aya Mughni, Dearborn
Sam M. Bute, East Grand Rapids
Julia Holt, Farmington Hills Mercy
Tori Briggs, Fowlerville
Ariana Butt, Gibraltar Carlson
Cameron Herman, Heartland
Brooke Pedersen, Holland West Ottawa
Ella Chatfield, Jenison
Megan Ford, Mason
Lauren Van Someren, Midland Dow
(Addison Ruffle in Northville).
Ella Boyd, Oxford
Abigail DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Anna Lassan, South-East Lyon
Lily Sackrider, St. John’s
Cecilia Rashti, Saint Joseph
Addison Buhr, Traverse City Central
Ava King, Traverse City West
London Williams, Trenton
Sarah Fromm, Utica
Riah Dewi, Western Walled Lake
Boys, Class A
Virage Nautial, Birmingham Seaholm
Dylan Schurich, Birmingham Seaholm
Charles Howell, Cadillac
Eric Gediman, Dearborn
Joseph Stachelik, Detroit UD Jesuit
Charlie Lentz, East Grand Rapids
Charlie Seifert, East Grand Rapids
Chris Piwarczyk, Fenton
TJ Silvernail, Grand Rapids Forest Hills North
Jack Ryan, Grosse Pointe South
Jaden Reggie, Levonia Churchill
Connor Curtis, Livonia Stevenson
Austin Martell, Mason
Jonathan Song, Midland Dow
Logan Yu, Midland Dow
Jackson Whitaker, Muskegon Wraith Puffer
Kyle Brown, Northville
Sean Wilson, Oxford
Anirudh Krishnan, Plymouth
Abrar Hussain, Portage Central
Andrew Miller, Saline
Jack Carlisle, Stevensville Lakeshore
William Howard Anthony D. Goode, Traverse City West
Vansh Javalit Baksi, Troy Athens
Girls category B
Ellen Gordon, Adrian
Navya Ashok, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Annika Perry, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Hannah Herman, Buchanan
Gwyneth L. Geiger, Caro
Reis Herrio, Gladstone
Julie Ashbaugh, Grant
Grace DeWall Malivet, Hudsonville Christian Unity
Megan Marta, Ishpeming Westwood
Addison Rutter, Kingsford
Libby McCarthy, Manistee
Cecilia Postma, Manistee
Malena Johnson, Marshall
Caitlin Bunny, Paw Paw
Malia Thelen, Portland
Isabella Dewildt, Sault Ste. Marie
Boys class B
Angelo Ciarelli, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Lucas Norr, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Austin Hinckley, Big Rapids
Logan Krebs, Brooklyn Columbia Central
Jackson Dell, Chelsea
William E. Rippey, Eaton Rapids
Logan Lipka, Frankenmuth
Charles Lindemann, Grand Rapids Central Catholic
Ben Sietsma, Grand Rapids Christian
Steven Petersen, Hillsdale
Michael Stout, Howard City Tri District
Anthony Mariotti Gotley, Madison Heights Lamphere
Braydon Sorenson, Manistee
Ethan Chambliss, Niles
Aiden Rollo, St. Clair
Oliver Brown, Williamston
Class C girls
Michaela Ann Boyle, Bad Axe
Kylie Ott, Bridgman
Alison Bowles, Clinton
Jed Schulte, Elk Rapids
Lauren Borsinek, Hemlock
Maria Thompson, Houghton Lake
Lola Corby, Ishpeming
Alexis Ewing, Jonesville
Adeline Ann Ruggles, Marlette
Sarah Daman, New Lothrop
Brooke Spitzley, Pewamo Westphalia
Claire Newman, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
Boys class C
Carter Upper, Alcona
Payton Butkovich, Pell City
Jamison Latham, Pell City
Tristan B. Harbaugh, Goebbels
Nico Burgon, Iron Mountain
Canon Diving, Manchester
Brad H. MacNeil, Montrose
Jack Lantz, New Buffalo
Ren Rudy, Ottawa, Whiteford Lake
Benjamin Marsh, St. Louis
Julian Ahluwalia, Traverse City St. Francis
Landen Mosca, Vassar
Girls category D
Mackenzie Grimm, Battle Creek St. Philip
Alivia Salenbeyan, Bretton Deerfield
Alina Salinbayan, Bretton Deerfield
Carolyn Biggs, Clarkston Everest College
Rachel Case, Kimball New Life Christian
Mallory Lowe, Leland
Bonnie Kiger, Marion
Hazel Hessel, St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church
Boys category D
Samuel Wallace Lutz, Adrian Lenawee Christian
Jurgen Griswold, Ellsworth
Christian Pesonen, Ewen Trout Creek
Trenton Taratuta, Hillman
Ridley Fast, Hillsdale Academy
Ben McCaw, Lawrence
Nathan Mills, Marcellus
Clayton Shop, Eastern Mason County
picture Scholar-Athlete Award medals are ready for display during the 2023 ceremony at the Breslin Center.