Some $15,000 awarded in 'Papa' Brown MSA scholarships: Here are the winners

James Yodice, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·3 min read

Mar. 29—The Brown family has announced the 2023 recipients of the Coach Mike "Papa" Brown MSA Scholarship.

The scholarships are available only to senior student-athletes in Albuquerque Public Schools, and only boys or girls who carry at least a 3.5 GPA were eligible for consideration. The family annually is handing out five scholarships to students who plan to attend college or a vocational school no later than the fall following their graduation.

Applicants were asked to write an essay on leadership, and those were examined for how their essay best reflected Mike Brown's "ideals of leadership."

—The winner of the $5,000 scholarship is Volcano Vista's Kayla Hynes (golf; team captain);

—Erica Ho of La Cueva (cross country/tennis/track and field) was the winner of the $4,000 scholarship award;

—Eldorado's Isaac Huber (swimming and diving/tennis) was chosen for the $3,000 scholarship;

—Tennis player Isabella Lundahl of La Cueva was awarded the $2,000 scholarship prize;

—The $1,000 scholarship went to Eldorado's Hannah O'Connell (swimming and diving captain).

There were 57 applicants this year.

Mike Brown, the Hall of Fame basketball coach, died in June 2021. He had been stricken with a rare kind of Parkinson's called Multiple System Atrophy, or MSA.

Donations through various channels helped fund the scholarship awards, and 10% of annual donations are to go directly to the MSA Foundation. Those interested in donating to the fund can do so by visiting papabrownscholarship.wixsite.com/scholarship-fund.

MAKE IT FOUR: Los Lunas High School sophomore guard Jalin Holland, probably the state's top prep basketball prospect in the Class of 2025, has added another Division I offer.

The 6-foot-4 Holland, who averaged 21.2 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Tigers last season, on Wednesday announced that he had received an offer from TCU.

Holland also has offers from the University of New Mexico, New Mexico State and Southern Utah. However, the NMSU offer was made under previous coach Greg Heier, who was fired this past season.

DREAMING: The top wrestlers from the 2022-23 season have been announced.

The "Dream Team" consists of the following athletes:

Roman Luttrell, Cleveland (107 pounds); Anthony Lopez of Volcano Vista (114); Bryson Valdez of Aztec (121); Noah Jones of Volcano Vista (127); Adam Benavidez of Bloomfield (133); Keenan Bejar of Piedra Vista (139); Tye Barker of Centennial (145); Mario Tafoya of La Cueva (152); Jack Byers of La Cueva (160); Ivan Smith of Farmington (172); Mason Posa of La Cueva (189); Miguel Andrade of Los Lunas (215); and Tyler Finley of West Mesa (heavyweight).

Ahren Griego of Volcano Vista was named the state's coach of the year. The senior wrestler of the year is Bloomfield's Benavidez.

SURVEY: The state's football coaches remain pretty much split on whether or not to maintain the "past history" format when it comes to determining home teams in the semifinal and championship rounds of the playoffs.

In a December NMAA survey, 45 of 87 coaches who responded (there are 122 football-playing members) said they want to adjust the format.

Interestingly, it is the Class 6A coaches who most oppose the current system, which rotates home sites based on where the previous game was played in the semis or finals. Of the 19 6A coaches who responded — more than half of the schools in this classification are in the metro area — 14 said they want to adjust the format.