CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Some 216 student athletes were feted at the annual Catholic High School League Scholar Athlete Banquet on June 5 at Fern Hill Golf Club.
Before the awards were distributed, CHSL director Vic Michaels explained to the nearly 600 guests the criteria that the league’s 18-member executive board used to grade the nominees and determine the award winners of the 16 girls sports and 14 boys sports.
“There are four categories,” he said: “Athletics, academics, leadership, and community service.”
The lineup of the award winners includes a testament to the individual in honor of whom the award has been named.
Girls Sports Scholar-Athletes
Edith Glusac Volleyball Award — Norah Tisko, Royal Oak Shrine. (Glusac was a former swimming, basketball, field hockey and tennis coach and basketball, volleyball and swim official for nearly 50 years.)
Lacrosse Award — Riley Hollis, Farmington Hills Mercy.
Frank Connolly Basketball Award — Halley Baumann, Wixom St. Catherine of Siena. (Connolly was a former director of the Catholic Youth Organization and was responsible for fostering growth in girls basketball.)
Sr. Mary Louise Affholter Track Award — Brigit Foley, Wixom St. Catherine of Siena. (Sister Affholter was a longtime principal at Detroit East Catholic High School.)
Bowling Award — Jordan Downham, Allen Park Cabrini.
Harvey Barcus Tennis Award — Brenna Cavanaugh, Wixom St. Catherine of Siena. (Barcus was a Detroit News sports writer legendary in his coverage of prep sports.)
Pom Pon Award — Grace DeLano, Bloomfield Hills Marian.
Soccer Award — Sarah Wojtylko, Riverview Gabriel Richard.
Skiing Award — Eve Jackson, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Ice Hockey Award — Lilah Chow, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Cheerleading — Natalie Nelson, Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard.
Deloris Yager Swimming Award — Chloe Doverspike, Farmington Hills Mercy. (Yager started the swim program at Mercy in 1967. She coached both Mercy and Catholic Central, guiding both programs to numerous league and state titles.)
Field Hockey Award — Lilah Chow, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Rev. John Zwers Softball Award — Rebecca Goulette, Marine City Cardinal Mooney. (Fr. Zwers was a former superintendent of Catholic schools in the archdiocese who had a keen interest in fostering equal growth in girls athletics.)
Hal Schram Cross Country Award — Isabelle Barone, Dearborn Divine Child. (Schram covered high school sports for more than 40 years at the Detroit Free Press.)
Golf Award — Julia Brown, Royal Oak Shrine.
Boys Sports Scholar-Athletes
Tom Connell Golf Award — Remy Stalcup, Clarkston Everest Collegiate. (Connell was an outstanding prep mentor at River Rouge Our Lady of Lourdes High School.)
Frank Guyott Cross Country Award — Alex Meszaros, Riverview Gabriel Richard. (Guyott was a longtime sports editor at The Michigan Catholic newspaper and a champion booster of parochial schools athletics.)
Joe Pascuzzi Track Award — Braylon McDonald, Detroit Loyola. (Pascuzzi was a former director of the Catholic League who championed improvements in track.)
Chris Buryta Boys Bowling Award — Andrew Carl, Dearborn Divine Child. (Buryta was a pioneer promoter of bowling at University of Detroit Jesuit High School.)
Msgr. Carroll Deady Tennis Award — Alexander Kuplicki, University of Detroit Jesuit. (Msgr. Deady was a superintendent of archdiocesan schools and a great competitor, educator, and scholar in the promotion of Catholic education.)
Brother George Synan Soccer Award — Andrew Imai, Royal Oak Shrine. (Brother Synan was a coach and administrator of old St. Joseph’s and De La Salle high schools. He was named “A Legend of the League” in 1993.)
Skiing Award — Nicholas Barnaby, Novi Detroit Catholic Central.
Mike Jolly Lacrosse Award — Collin Bailey, Warren De La Salle. (Jolly was a former teacher and athletic director at De La Salle, regarded as the “father of De La Salle lacrosse” and respected for his promotion of the sport throughout the state.)
Sam Madden Basketball Award — Jackson Reynolds, Dearborn Divine Child. (Madden was a longtime director of the Catholic League and originator of the CHSL basketball tournament.)
Bernard Krzywada Swimming Award — James Kluge, Ann Arbor Greenhills. (Krzywada was one of the pioneer coaches in the Catholic League and the championship swimming coach at Detroit Visitation High School.)
Ralph Owen Baseball Award — Evan Haeger, Novi Detroit Catholic Central. (Owen was a former CHSL director who instituted the 3-2 count for the league.)
Mike Rodriguez Wrestling Award — Drew Heethuis, Novi Detroit Catholic Central. (Rodriguez coached wrestling at Catholic Center for 40 years, retiring as the winningest coach in the history of USA high school wrestling.)
Ice Hockey Award — Devesh KC, Novi Detroit Catholic Central.
John Shada Football Award — Brendan Haisenleder, Marine City Cardinal Mooney. (The John Shada Award in tribute to one of the CHSL’s outstanding football coaches was presented starting in 1971 to the top offensive and defensive players. It was changed in 1980 as a Scholar Athlete Award.)
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
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