St. Mary senior Susan Herman is a finalist for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Award.

Each year the association awards 32 scholarships of $1,000 each to student-athletes. Herman is one of eight finalists for one of the two scholarships that will be awarded to female Class D athletes. If Herman wins, she’ll be invited to an awards ceremony that will be held at halftime of the Class C boys’ basketball state final on March 15 in the Breslin Student Events Center at Michigan State University. The winners will be notified on Feb. 8.

In more St. Mary news, the girls’ basketball team is an honorable mention in Class D state rankings issued this week. It is the first week the Eagles have made the state rankings, which are conducted by the Michigan High School Basketball Coaches Association.

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Glen Lake and T-C Christian had the first tie in the history of the Great Northern High School Bowling Conference Saturday, 15-15. Laker Joey Galla led both teams with a 349.

St. Francis beat Glen Lake in girls’ action, with Chloe Gribbin leading the Lakers with a 173.

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Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails has increased the amount of grooming it does on the Leelanau Trail.

Mark Pleune, the chief groomer on the Leelanau Trail since 1996, usually grooms for skating and classic styles on Fridays. This winter, the northern five miles of the trail south of Suttons Bay is receiving an additional mid-week groom. The groomer is housed at Pleune’s workshop near the trail’s Front Street trailhead in Suttons Bay. It takes Pleune about four hours to groom the entire trail making two passes, down and back. He uses an ASV track truck with an enclosed cab to set classic tracks on the edges of the trail, and a corduroy-like section in the middle for skate-style skiers.

Officials from TART Trails, which owns the Leelanau Trail, also said some snowmobilers have harmed the groomed trails this winter. Snowmobiles are not allowed on the non-motorized trail, and TART Trails encourages that violators be reported to local law enforcement.