The exclamation point on every high school sports year comes in mid-July when the Livingston Daily names its Livingston County Male and Female Athletes of the Year.
Before the newspaper’s choices are revealed, readers will have an opportunity to express their preferences, beginning with the top candidates for Male Athlete of the Year.
You might notice there are some pretty incredible athletes, some of whom won state championships, missing from this list.
That’s because the long-standing policy for choosing the Athlete of the Year is that the athlete must have excelled in more than one high school sport. Being great in two or more sports is a better barometer of athletic ability than being great in one sport in which an athlete specializes 12 months a year.
Online voting is open until 3 p.m. Wednesday, July 17.
Adam Aeschliman, Fowlerville, Sr.
Aeschliman led the county with five interceptions during football season, picking off a pass in each of his last four games. In the spring, he made all-state in pole vault by finishing seventh in the Division 2 finals after winning the event in the regional and CAAC Red meets.
Evan Bryan, Hartland, Sr.
Bryan made first-team all-county in soccer and track and field. In the fall, he scored three goals and three assists to make all-district. Bryan had one of the best track seasons in Hartland history, making all-state in long jump by placing eighth and running on three school-record relay teams.
Charlie Burchfield, Brighton, Sr.
Burchfield played in two state championship games as a senior. He was the starting goalie on a soccer team that lost in overtime in the state final, allowing only four goals in seven playoff games to make second-team all-state. He had nine goals and 16 assists in hockey, despite playing with an injury that kept him off the lacrosse field in the spring.
James Butzier, Hartland, Sr.
Butzier made an impact in three sports, beginning in the fall as Hartland’s starting quarterback. He threw for 826 yards and seven touchdowns and ran for 640 yards and nine scores. After going 47-10 and finishing fifth in the state in wrestling, he ran on a school-record 800 relay team during track season.
Nolan Carruthers, Pinckney, Jr.
Carruthers led Livingston County in several stat categories in football and baseball. His 68 catches and 637 receiving yards led the county, as he boosted his career totals to a county-record 123 catches for 1,409 yards and 11 touchdowns. In baseball, he made second-team all-state after leading the county with a .444 batting average, 41 steals and 48 runs.
Bobby Kanka, Howell, Jr.
Kanka led the county in sacks with eight and tackles for losses with 17 during football season. In the spring, he had the county’s longest throws in shot put (46 feet, 11 inches) and discus (156-1). He was a state qualifier and placed 12th in the state in discus.
Evan Loughridge, Pinckney, Sr.
Loughridge repeated as the county’s cross country Runner of the Year after winning regionals and placing 10th in the state Division 2 meet for the second year in a row. A track season slowed by injuries ended on a high note, as he took fourth in the state in the 3,200 and ran times of 9:15.70 for the 3,200 and 4:15.47 for the 1,600.
Paul Moore, Pinckney, Sr.
Moore finished his Pinckney career by winning the 3,200 in the state Division 2 track meet and making All-America in the two-mile run at New Balance Nationals Outdoor in 8:57.08. His 1,600 time of 4:12.76 ranks him second in county history. In cross country, his fifth-place time of 15:13.5 was the fastest ever by a Pinckney runner in a state meet.
Sean O'Keefe, Brighton, Jr.
O’Keefe made first-team all-county in football after finishing third in the county with three sacks and eight tackles for losses. During the winter, he finished third in the state Division 1 finals at 215 pounds, going 43-9 and winning a KLAA championship along the way.
Levi Pennala, Brighton, Sr.
Pennala became the first Livingston County goalie to make first-team all-state three times after backstopping Brighton to the Division 1 title game for the third year in a row. In golf, he made second-team all-county after averaging 80.2 for 18 holes.
Lane Petit, Brighton, Sr.
Petit made first-team all-state in hockey for the second time, scoring 36 goals and 19 assists for a state runner-up team. He was a first-team all-county selection in baseball after hitting .328 with 11 doubles, three triples, six homers and 31 RBIs.
Brady Quinn, Hartland, Sr.
Quinn received all-county recognition in three sports. He made the second team in soccer after leading Hartland with five goals, received honorable mention in basketball after averaging 4.7 points and 5.6 rebounds, and made the first team in baseball after hitting .365 with 35 runs and 16 steals.
Brendan Ray, Fowlerville, Sr.
Ray was the only athlete to make the all-county first team in football and basketball. In football, he caught 26 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns. In basketball, he averaged 14.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals.
Jacob Ross, Hartland, Sr.
Ross was the county’s Defensive Player of the Year in football after leading the area’s five teams with 96 tackles. He forced a fumble near the goal line to prevent a Howell comeback. During lacrosse season, he made first-team all-state and helped lead Hartland to the state championship game by scoring 68 goals and 24 assists.
Livingston County Male Athlete of the Year Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Vote for readers' choice for Livingston County Male Athlete of the Year
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