Indianapolis, IN (NIAAA.org) – Brianna Schmitz and Tyson Wentland are the 2025 winners of the NIAAA Section 5 Student Athlete Scholarship. They were chosen in the spring of 2025 at the annual Section 5 meeting.
Schmitz is a graduate of Oakes High School in Oakes, North Dakota, where the athletic administrator is Robin Paul. Schmitz’s parents are William and Tara Schmitz.
Schmitz was valedictorian of her class, graduating with a 4.19 GPA. As a result, she was recognized with several honors, earning Oakes High School Distinguished Student, Academic All-State, and the Kennelly Award for Outstanding Citizen.
As a two-sport athlete, Schmitz played all four years in volleyball and basketball. She gained eight varsity letters and was named to the All-District Team in 2024 for both.
A leader at Oakes, Schmitz was a class representative for the North Dakota Association for Student Councils, Student Council Class of 2025 President, Student Body Vice President, and DECA Chapter President. Furthermore, Schmitz was involved in the National Honor Society, Concert Band, Pep Band, and Concert Choir.
As a volunteer and servant in her community, Schmitz assisted at the National Alzheimer’s Association, Suicide Prevention Night, the Great Plains Food Bank, and Breast Cancer Awareness Night.
Wentland is a graduate of Corsica-Stickney High School in Corsica, South Dakota, where the athletic administrator is Brittney Eide. Wentland’s mother is Tara Wentland, and his late father is Chad Wentland.
A stellar student at Corsica-Stickney, Wentland was an “A” Honor Roll student all four years, graduating with a 3.88 GPA. He captained the Quiz Bowl team his senior year and was selected for the Academic Festival all four years.
Wentland participated in four sports – football, basketball, baseball, and golf. He competed for four years in basketball, earning All-Conference twice. He also gave four years to baseball, where he was named All-State three times and All-Conference three times.
As a leader in his school, Wentland was a member of the Student Council, assisting with events such as homecoming week, dress up days, theme week, and a school parade. His senior year he was Vice President, as well as captain of the basketball team his senior year and baseball captain freshman through senior year.
In his local community, Wentland helped clean up the community through garbage pick-up and landscaping, coached and officiated youth athletes, and cleaned dishes and served food at the Baked Potato Feed.
Section student-athlete scholarships are provided each year by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) to one male and one female student athlete from each section for their distinguished scholastic, leadership, and sportsmanship qualities.
For a student to apply for and receive the scholarship, they must meet certain requirements which include a certain level of athletic and academic achievements, amongst other criteria.
