Examining the cases for Livingston County female Athlete of the Year
Some Livingston County female athletes will have something extra at stake when their spring seasons start to get busy this week.
With two of the three sports seasons in the books, the Livingston Daily’s female Athlete of the Year award will come down to performances over the next two months or so.
Every top candidate competes in a spring sport, so each still has a chance to make her case.
The male and female Athlete of the Year awards have always gone to multi-sport athletes, not single-sport specialists, with the only exception being 2019-20 when COVID policies shut down spring sports. Brighton volleyball standout Celia Cullen won that year.
The reasoning is that it’s a better display of athletic ability when someone excels in more than one sport.
Here are the top candidates for female Athlete of the Year, which will be revealed in July, listed alphabetically:
Izzy DePestel, Hartland, Jr.
DePestel’s best work doesn’t show up on a stat sheet. She made second team all-county in soccer as a defender last spring. In basketball, she was often tasked with defending opponents’ top guard. DePestel also ran the point after an injury to the starting point guard and is one of the county’s top 3-point shooters.
Mallory Dickey, Pinckney, Sr.
Dickey received honorable mention all-county in volleyball, but has a chance to make a big impact in two sports this spring. Dickey is the top hurdler on Pinckney’s track and field team and was a first team all-county pick in softball after hitting .391 with 32 RBIs and 32 steals.
Carrigan Eberly, Brighton, Sr.
Eberly made all-state in cross country in the fall by placing 28th in the state Division 1 meet in a personal-best 18 minutes, 38.9 seconds. She was also fourth at regionals and fifth in the KLAA. Eberly was a state qualifier in the 3,200-meter run and 3,200 relay last year. She ran 5:15.15 in the 1,600 and 11:13.28 in the 3,200.
Sophia Heady, Brighton, Jr.
Heady made second team all-county in her first season of varsity basketball, averaging 8.1 points and 8.6 rebounds. She will help Brighton try for a third straight state lacrosse championship, having scored 24 goals and seven assists last year.
Audrey Johnson, Livingston Christian, Jr.
Few athletes in the state put up such staggering numbers in two different sports than Johnson. The biggest drawback to her candidacy would be playing primarily Division 4 competition. She averaged 22.5 points, including a 41-point performance, and became her school’s first, first team all-county girls basketball player. Johnson already has 1,189 points with one season left. In soccer, she received Division 4 all-state honorable mention after scoring 45 goals. She has 103 goals in two seasons.
Lydia LaMarra, Brighton, Soph.
LaMarra was the county’s Runner of the Year for girls cross country after becoming Brighton’s first league and regional champion since 2007. She made all-state by placing 21st in 18:28.7. LaMarra should carry that momentum onto the track where she qualified for the state meet in the 3,200 as a freshman in 11:21.82.
Abby Mainka, Brighton, Sr.
Mainka made all-region and first team all-county in volleyball, helping Brighton win a district championship. She had 295 kills, a .248 hitting percentage, 211 digs, 24 blocks and 47 aces. She was a state qualifier in discus last year, winning the regional championship.
Aubree Meyer, Hartland, Sr.
Meyer made all-state in shot put last spring, finishing fifth in the Division 1 finals. She was within three inches of becoming the third Livingston County girl to pass 40 feet in shot. Meyer made first team all-county in basketball after averaging 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds. The Siena Heights recruit had a 30-point performance against Birmingham Groves.
CeCe Thorington, Pinckney, Sr.
Thorington hasn’t competed in a high school sport yet this school year, so she typically wouldn’t be considered for the award, but she excels in two spring sports. She was ranked the county’s No. 1 athlete in softball and girls track and field going into the season. Thorington was first-team all-state in softball last year. She would have made at least one all-state podium in track, but didn’t compete in the state meet because of a conflict with softball districts.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Examining the cases for Livingston County female Athlete of the Year
