Saline Seniors Blake Coy, Amod Talekar are Finalists for MHSAA Scholar-Athlete Award

Two Saline High School seniors are among 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2021-22 school year,

Blake Coy, a member of the swim and dive team, and Amod Talekar hope to be among the 32 students who win a $2,000 scholarship, underwritten by Farm Bureau Insurance. 

Saline is one of 19 Michigan High Schools with two finalists.

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. The applications were judged by a 58-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 A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 22. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.

Blake Coy

Coy has a 4.17 GPA and is a member of the Saline High School boys' varsity swim and dive tea, In 2021, he qualified for the MHSAA State Meet in the 50 and 100 freestyle events and the 200 free, 200 medley and 400 free relay. He swam on the 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams, earning All State and All American honors.

Away from the pool, he's active as a Saline Area Social Service student representative and volunteers at the food pantry. He's also a member of National Honor Society. He has also been active in French Club, Symphonic Band, Poetry Out Loud and Quiz Bowl. He works as a lifeguard at at Travis Pointe Country Club and as a swim instructor at the Rec Center.

He hopes to study engineering and computer science and is in the running for Presidential Scholarship Competitions at the University of Indianapolis and Saginaw Valey State University, which have NCAA Division II swim programs.

Amod Talekar

Amod Talekar was one of the captains of the Saline varsity boys' tennis team that made the MHSAA finals tournament for the first time in years. Talekar was also the Hornets' first flight player - facing the opposition's top player every meet.

Talekar has a weighted GPA of 4.20.

Away from sports, Talekar has been a member of the Saline Fiddlers Philharmonic for four years and a performer in the Saline High School Chamber Orchestra since his sophomore year and Saline High School Symphony Orchestra since his freshman year.  Talekar has played violin since fifth grade.

He's been a member of the Travis Pointe Tennis Club since he was 10 years old. He's also achieved a third-degree black belt in a martial art.

He volunteers as a member of the National Honors Society and teaches at his church.

Talekar has not yet determined his college plans but plans to study biomedical engineering.

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