78 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2019 

heard about a tryout for the 
football team in the winter of 
my freshman year, so I decided 
to go. I’
m very happy I made 
that decision.”
Louis didn’
t get into any 
games in the 2016 or 2017 sea-
sons, although he was named 
Scout Team Player of the Week 
twice in 2017 for his role in 
helping U-M’
s special teams 
prepare for wins over Air Force 
and Rutgers.
He saw limited game action 
in 2018, but enough to earn 
a letter, and this fall, the 
5-foot-11, 196-pounder is on 
the kickoff and kickoff return 
teams and a backup on the 
punt and punt return teams.
A two-time Academic All-
Big Ten honoree (2017 and 
2018), Louis was granted a 
scholarship for the past winter, 
spring and summer semesters.
“It’
s been a great, fun ride 
playing football for U-M,” he 
said. “I’
ve done what I could 
do to help. I’
m always trying to 
make myself into a better play-
er, and I’
ve accepted my role.
“There are so many details 
to the game at this level. And 
you have to make quite a com-
mitment.”
Louis played mainly in the 
defensive backfield for the WL 
Northern football team as a 
junior and senior. He was on 
the school’
s golf team for four 
years.

Nathan brought a gymnas-
tics background to U-M. He 
was looking to join a group at 
U-M with his same interests, 
he said, when he learned about 
cheerleading tryouts.
Besides cheering at home 
football games — he also got 
to cheer at U-M’
s game at 
Northwestern last season — 
Nathan also cheers at home 
men’
s and women’
s basketball 
games.
U-M cheerleaders compete, 
too.
Nathan (5-8½, 170 pounds) 
helped the Wolverines win 
the National Cheerleaders 
Association Division 1A 
national championship in April 
in Daytona Beach, Fla.
He was a member of 
Intermediate Coed Division 
squad that won its division 
title.
The brothers’
 parents are 
Michigan State University 
grads. Their sister Heidi 
Grodman,18, is a sophomore 
at MSU. 

Louis 
Grodman

Nathan 
Grodman

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Terrific Trio of Girls 
Named High School 
Athletes of the Year

T

he Jewish News and 
Michigan Jewish 
Sports Foundation 
have been naming High 
School Athletes of the Year 
since 1991.
For the first time, three girls 
are honorees in the same year.
They are Elle Hartje from 
Detroit Country Day School, 
Mikaela Schultz 
from Bloomfield 
Hills High School 
and Dani Wolfe 
from Walled Lake 
Northern High 
School.
Each girl 
graduated from 
high school this 
spring and has 
moved on to 
play collegiate sports at the 
Division I level.
Hartje is playing women’
s 
hockey and women’
s soccer 
at Yale University. Schultz is 
playing on the University of 
Michigan women’
s golf team 
and Wolfe is playing women’
s 
soccer at U-M.
“It was a difficult decision 

(to select all three girls as 
Athletes of the Year) and 
at the same time, it was an 
easy decision,” said longtime 
selection committee member 
Harry Glanz.
The decision was difficult 
because there was no way to 
eliminate any of the three 
girls from consideration. The 
decision was easy 
because the three 
girls are some of the 
most accomplished 
athletes — male or 
female — ever to 
win the award.
“These three girls 
have been on the 
committee’
s radar 
for three or four 
years,” Glanz said.
A philosophical change 
made by the committee 
several years ago to select the 
best athletes for the award 
each year regardless of gender 
instead of only one male and 
only one female also played 
a role in this year’
s history-
making decision.
Hartje is one of the most 

Elle Hartje
Mikaela Schultz
Dani Wolfe

Josh Nodler

sports HIGHlights

continued from page 76

continued on page 80