Vote for first Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week of 2023-24
Welcome back to another year of high school sports.
With last week being the first week in which every sport could schedule competitions, the Livingston Daily’s Athlete of the Week poll is making its 2023-24 debut.
While it was a particularly rough week for Livingston County’s football teams, who went winless as a group in Week 1 for the first time since 1959, other teams are off to strong sports.
What has been particularly encouraging has been the play of county volleyball and soccer teams. No local teams in those sports advanced out of districts last year, but several teams are off to strong starts that indicate they could be reckoned with come postseason time.
I certainly hope so because, as much as I’m eager for hockey season to start, this job is more fun when teams are making deep state tournament runs.
For those unfamiliar with the drill, the Athlete of the Week poll is open until 3 p.m. Wednesday. You are encouraged to vote early and often.
When voting on a computer, refresh your browser if the poll isn’t immediately visible.
Let’s make it a great 2023-24 sports year!
RELATED: Livingston Daily's comprehensive high school football coverage all in one place
Easton Culver, Hartland football
Culver is apparently talented at something other than wrestling. He took the opening kickoff of the season 95 yards for a touchdown, scoring the first touchdown on Hartland’s new field turf during a 35-10 loss to East Kentwood. Culver was also the biggest weapon for an Eagles’ offense that failed to reach the end zone (a theme among county teams in Week 1), catching two passes for 63 yards.
Brandon Hamilton, Howell football
Hamilton was a bright spot on both sides of the ball for a Howell team that lost 28-2 in its opener at Hudsonville. He gained 36 yards on Howell’s only completion of the game and had an interception. Hamilton may be tough to beat in this poll, having won our readers’ choice poll for preseason football Player of the Year.
Cameron Herman, Hartland volleyball
The reigning Livingston County volleyball Player of the Year has the Eagles off to a 7-0 start. She had 17 kills during three two-set victories in a quad at Davison. She had 28 kills in a season-opening tournament, helping the Eagles go 4-0 to win the championship.
Devlin McGinnis, Brighton soccer
McGinnis scored five goals in Brighton’s first two games. He had one goal and set up the other in a 2-0 season-opening victory over Novi, then scored four in a 7-0 victory over Howell.
Mason Munsell, Fowlerville tennis
Munsell won the No. 1 singles championship, helping Fowlerville edge Hartland by two points in the Livingston County quad. In three years of playing tennis, Munsell has gone from playing junior varsity to No. 3 singles to No. 1 singles.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Vote for first Livingston Daily Athlete of the Week of 2023-24
