Norway’s Jeff VanHolla drives to the basket as Bark River-Harris’ Carter Zawacki defends on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, in Norway, Mich. (Adam Niemi/Iron Mountain Daily News)

EAST LANSING– The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2020-21 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.

Th lone student-athlete from Dickinson and Iron County high schools named a finalist is Jeffrey VanHolla of Norway.

The program, in its 32nd 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 MHSAA 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, 8,323 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.

Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.858. There are 74 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 418 schools which submitted applicants, 12 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,356 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement.

The applications were judged by a 72-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. 2, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 9 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 16. 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, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

Other U.P. student-athletes joining VanHolla as candidates:

Kameron Karp, Marquette; Haleigh Knowles, Sault Ste. Marie; Elizabeth M. Williams, Ishpeming-Westwood; Caden Kienitz, Munising; Molly Myllyoja, Dollar Bay; Elise Besonen, Ewen-Trout Creek and Connor LeClaire, Dollar Bay.