UNPRECEDENTED: Two Northville athletes earn prestigious MHSAA award

Prior to this year, throughout Northville Athletic Director Brian Samulski’s 11 years as an AD, the schools he has worked for (Salem and Northville) have had one student-athlete selected as a recipient of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Scholar-Athlete Award — proof of how difficult it is to be selected for the honor.

The MHSAA announced Tuesday that two Mustangs — Benjamin Hu and Amogh Mavatoor — had earned the distinction.

“To now have two in the same year is truly outstanding,” Samulski said. “Congratulations to Ben and Amogh on this incredible achievement.”

The pair of awardees will be recognized at Thursday’s home Northville basketball game against Dearborn Fordson and at the school’s annual Honors Night.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has selected 13 student-athletes from Class A member schools to receive scholarships through the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award program.

All about Ben Hu

Hu competed on the Mustangs’ swimming & diving team all four years of high school. He swam on an MHSAA Finals championship relay as a junior and has earned all-state five times over his first three seasons.

Hu has qualified for USA Swimming futures and national competitions; and he served as team captain. He earned AP Scholar with Distinction recognition, and played in the University of Michigan Youth Symphonic Band throughout high school and solo & ensemble his first three years, earning an MSBOA “1” rating.

He also won Michigan Open classical piano competition, attended Michigan New Century Chinese School throughout high school and served as a lifeguard and swim instructor all four years. Hu will attend University of Michigan and study biomedical engineering.

“(My teammate) knew I wasn’t drowning in the water, but in my own thoughts,” Hu wrote in the required essay applicants wrote for the award. “For the remainder of that practice, I focused on the steady kick in front of me, a lifeline that I didn’t know I needed.

“That moment, in the red-tinted gloom of a 5 a.m. practice, is what true sportsmanship is. It’s not the polished handshake after a buzzer. It’s the unobserved investments in the person next to you when they’re at their worst. It’s the team coming together to say, ‘Your struggle is our struggle’.” All about Amogh Mavatoor

All about Amogh Mavatoor

Mavatoor played four years of varsity tennis, competed two years in track & field and one on the junior varsity bowling team. He earned an MHSAA Finals No. 4 singles championship in 2023 and twice earned all-state recognition in that sport. He was also named academic all-state all four years and served as tennis team captain.

Mavatoor earned AP Scholar with Distinction recognition and named National Merit Scholarship Commended Student, and participated in National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society.

He was an active member of DECA throughout high school, serving on the executive board and winning two state championships. Mavatoor also served as president and program director of the ACEing Autism chapter and is serving his second year on the Wayne County Civic Youth Council and as part of its executive board.

He serves on the VT SEVA Detroit executive board, working to assist underprivileged and visually-impaired children in India and is a co-founder and serves as co-president of Hope for Dignity, providing for underprivileged communities in Michigan and India.

Last but not least, Mavatoor earned state and national community service awards. He will attend the University of Michigan and study business administration.

“Sportsmanship isn’t the absence of competition; it’s the way we choose to compete,” Mavatoor wrote in his essay. “It’s choosing integrity when no one would blame you for doing the opposite. It’s understanding that the respect you earn matters more than the result you achieve.”

A special 37-year tradition

Farm Bureau Insurance, in its 37th year of sponsoring the award, will give $2,000 college scholarships to 32 individuals who represent their member schools in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.

Students applying for the Scholar-Athlete Award must be carrying at least a 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average and have previously won a letter in a varsity sport in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors a postseason tournament.

Other requirements for the applicants were to show active participation in other school and community activities and produce an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.

The 32 scholarship recipients will be recognized March 14 during the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.