CLINTON TOWNSHIP — In his opening remarks at the Catholic High School League Scholar-Athlete Leader Awards banquet June 3 at the Fern Hill Golf Club, director Vic Michaels explained to the 500-plus guests the criteria the league’s executive board uses to grade the nominees and determine the winners of the 16 girls sports and 14 boys sports awards.
“There are four categories,” he said: “Athletics, academics, leadership, and community service.”
In a rare occurrence in these ceremonies that have been held for 50 years, Evalyn Theut of Chesterfield Township Austin Catholic won two awards, in soccer and cross country.
She was a four-year varsity letter winner in both sports and an All Catholic in soccer, which she has committed to play at Madonna University in the fall.
Her 4.13 GPA was the highest ranked in her graduating class, challenging herself with honors, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment courses at Macomb Community College. She was named a CHSL Scholastic All Catholic.
Theut was president of the National Honor Society, co-founder of the school’s Newspaper Club, a member of Student Government, and a delegate to the Women in Sports Leadership Conference.
Her wide-ranging voluntary community service of more than 150 hours included Chicago’s Food Depository and Gleaner’s, the Forensic Science Workshop, altar server, lector and Eucharistic minister at her church, and membership in the Random Acts of Kindness Club.
At Madonna, Theut plans to study nursing and then go on to graduate school for chiropractic studies.
Theut is the youngest of three siblings who attended Austin Catholic. Her sister Josie graduated in 2019 and teaches at Our Lady of Victory school in Northville.
Brother Sonny (2021) works for the family business, Theut Products, whose specialty is the production of lightweight and concrete blocks.
Her sister Lainey graduated a year ago and is a student at Macomb Community College.
The line-up of the award winners includes a testament to the individual in honor of whom the award has been named.
Girls Scholar-Athlete Leader Awards
Edith Glusac Girls Volleyball Award — Sophie Borowski, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep. (Glusac was a former swimming, basketball, field hockey and tennis coach and basketball, volleyball and swim official for nearly 50 years.)
Girls Lacrosse Award — Jessica Sikora, Warren Regna.
Frank Connolly Girls Basketball Award — Kaitlyn Jabczenski, Allen Park Cabrini. (Connolly was a former director of the Catholic Youth Organization and was credited for fostering growth in girls basketball.)
Sr. Mary Louise Affholter Girls Track Award — Isabella Olejniczak, Royal Oak Shrine. (Sr. Affholter was a longtime principal at Detroit East Catholic High School.)
Girls Bowling Award — Cora Kujawski, Warren Regina.
Harvey Barcus Girls Tennis Award — Olivia George, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart. (Barcus was a Detroit News sports writer legendary in his coverage of prep sports.)
Pom Pon Award — Philomena Sproule, Wixom St. Catherine of Siena.
Girls Soccer Award — Evalyn Theut, Chesterfield Township Austin Catholic.
Girls Skiing Award — Jessica Koehler, Farmington Hills Mercy.
Girls Ice Hockey Award — Sofie Ancona, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett.
Cheerleading — Megan Moore, Dearborn Divine Child.
Deloris Yager Girls Swimming Award — Courtney Buchanan, Royal Oak Shrine. (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 — Kayla Nafso, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Rev. John Zwers Softball Award — Abigail Savage, Wixom St. Catherine of Siena. (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 Girls Cross Country Award — Evalyn Theut, Chesterfield Township Austin Catholic. (Schram covered high school sports for more than 40 years at the Detroit Free Press.)
Girls Golf Award — Maggie Pulte, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart.
Boys Scholar-Athlete Leader Awards
Tom Connell Boys Golf Award — Richard Artymovich, Warren De La Salle. (Connell was an outstanding prep mentor at River Rouge Our Lady of Lourdes High School.)
Frank Guyott Boys Cross Country Award — Lincoln Cha, Ann Arbor Greenhills. (Guyott was a longtime sports editor at The Michigan Catholic newspaper and a champion booster of parochial schools athletics.)
Joe Pascuzzi Boys Track Award — Tyler Lenn, Marine City Cardinal Mooney. (Pascuzzi was a former director of the Catholic League who championed improvements in track.)
Chris Buryta Boys Bowling Award — Gregory Altman, Madison Heights Bishop Foley. (Buryta was a pioneer promoter of bowling at University of Detroit Jesuit High School.)
Msgr. Carroll Deady Boys Tennis Award — Caden Che, Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett. (Msgr. Deady was a superintendent of archdiocesan schools and a great competitor, educator and scholar in the promotion of Catholic education.)
Brother George Synan Boys Soccer Award — Adam Weingartz, Chesterfield Township Austin Catholic. (Bro. 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.)
Boys Skiing Award — Matthew Graves, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep.
Mike Jolly Boys Lacrosse Award — Andrew Weiss, Warren De La Salle. (Jolly was a former teacher and athletic director at De La Salle, regarded as the “father of DLS lacrosse” and respected for his promotion of the sport throughout the state.)
Sam Madden Boys Basketball Award — Nnaemeka Ikechi, Warren De La Salle. (Madden was a longtime director of the Catholic League and originator of the CHSL basketball tournament.)
Bernard Krzywada Boys Swimming Award — Luke Mychalowych, Novi Detroit Catholic Central. (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 — Aiden Gauthier, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes. (Owen was a former CHSL director who instituted the 3-2 count for the league.)
Mike Rodriguez Boys Wrestling Award — Joseph Stachelek, University of Detroit Jesuit. (Rodriguez coached wrestling at Detroit Catholic Central for 40 years, retiring as the winningest coach in the history of USA high school wrestling.)
Boys Ice Hockey Award — Kyle Kavc, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep.
John Shada Football Award — Jack Romkema, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes. (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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