By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

The Niles boys’ varsity basketball team has earned first team Class A Academic All-State for the 2009-10 season, it was announced recently.

The Vikings, who were the Big 16 Conference West Division champions, had a team grade point average (GPA) of 3.512.

The award is presented by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan.

The Vikings were sixth overall in GPA. Traverse City Central was No. 1 with a 3.69, while Midland Dow (3.59), Lowell (3.55), St. Johns (3.52) and Traverse City West (3.514) rounded out the top five.

“We are very pleased with this honor,” Niles coach Todd Pawielski said. “It is something that the kids earned on their own. This is a group that is self-motivated and cares about their academic success. We have a lot of the school’s leaders in terms of student council and volunteering.

“There is also certainly a direct correlation between doing your work in the classroom and being able to listen with doing those same things on the basketball floor,” he added.