Vote for readers' choice for Livingston County Female Athlete of the Year

The only state championship team in Livingston County in 2023-24 was Brighton’s girls lacrosse team .

The school year ended with Hartland playing for the state Division 1 championship in girls soccer .

So, obviously, there were some pretty amazing female athletes in the county over the past school year.

But who is the best of the best?

Before the newspaper’s choice for county Female Athlete of the Year is revealed, readers will have an opportunity to express their preference.

You might notice there are some pretty incredible athletes, some of whom were all-staters and state champions, 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.

Izzy DePestel, Hartland, Jr.

DePestel played at a high level in two sports, making second-team all-county in basketball and soccer. She took over at point guard during basketball season because of an injury while still being tasked with defending the opposition’s best player. She was a starting outside defender on a Hartland soccer team that reached the state championship game, making all-conference and all-district.

Mallory Dickey, Pinckney, Sr.

Dickey excelled in two sports during the spring, making all-conference and all-district in softball and coming one place short of making the state track and field meet in the 300-meter hurdles. She hit .352 with 34 RBIs and 24 steals in softball. She took third in the 300 hurdles at regionals and in the SEC White meet. Dickey received honorable mention all-county in volleyball.

Carrigan Eberly, Brighton, Sr.

Eberly made all-state in cross country and on the track. She placed 28th in the Division 1 finals in the fall with a time of 18:38.9. She was the regional champion in the 1,600 during track, placing ninth in the state meet in 5:03.19. She anchored a school-record 3,200 relay team that made all-state with a seventh-place finish.

Sophia Heady, Brighton, Jr.

Heady made second-team all-county in basketball and third-team all-state in lacrosse. During basketball season, she averaged 8.1 points and 8.6 rebounds as a force in the paint. She was a key to Brighton’s run to a third straight state lacrosse championship, scoring 54 goals and 18 assists. Heady had a five-goal game in the state semifinals against Bloomfield Hills.

Audrey Johnson, Livingston Christian, Jr.

Johnson put up monster numbers in basketball and soccer, leading the county in scoring over the winter and goals during the spring. She averaged 22.5 points, including a county-record 41 points against Bloomfield Christian, while boosting her three-year total to 1,189 points. In soccer, she scored 43 goals and had 11 assists, scoring at least twice in 14 of 18 games.

Tommi Kleinschmidt, Fowlerville, Jr.

After receiving all-county honorable mention in volleyball and basketball, Kleinschmidt broke out with a huge season on the softball diamond. She made first-team all-county after ranking fifth in the county with a .447 batting average, tying for fifth with four homers, ranking fourth with 43 runs and tying for ninth with 30 RBIs

Emily Kramer, Brighton, Sr.

Kramer had been back competing for Brighton for a year following a serious knee injury, but was 100% back in form by soccer season. She made third-team all-state after scoring six goals and two assists while playing a strong two-way game. She received honorable mention all-county in volleyball after helping Brighton win a district championship.

RELATED: Vote for readers' choice for Livingston County Male Athlete of the Year

Lexi Le, Howell

Le qualified for the state track and field meet in high jump for the second time by placing second at regionals with a leap of 5 feet, 2 inches. She took 14th at the Division 1 finals. During basketball season, she was the senior leader for a Howell team that won a district championship. She averaged 5.6 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Aubree Meyer, Hartland, Sr.

Meyer was a first-team all-county selection in basketball and track and field, earning all-state for the second time in shot put. After averaging 4.1 points as a junior, Meyer averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior. She became the third Livingston County girl to eclipse 40 feet in shot put, placing sixth in the state meet. Meyer is the first county girl to make all-state in shot put twice since Hartland’s Cathy Rex in 1977 and 1978.

Brielle Reason, Pinckney, Sr.

Reason won the regional championship in long jump with a leap of 17-4 and ran on three relays in the state Division 2 meet. She was part of a school-record 800 relay team that made all-state with a fifth-place finish. During basketball season, Reason averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds. She was the team’s top defender, amassing a school-record 138 deflections.

CeCe Thorington, Pinckney, Sr.

Thorington made all-state in two sports during the spring, becoming the first county athlete since Hartland’s Avery Evenson in 2010 to make all-state in two sports in the same season. Thorington made Division 2 all-state in softball for the second time after leading the county with a .558 average and setting a state record with 130 consecutive steals. Thorington anchored a fifth-place school-record 800 relay team at the state meet after leading the county with times of 59.50 for the 400 and 12.69 for the 100.

Taylor Wiegand, Livingston Christian, Soph.

Wiegand made Division 4 all-state in cross country and track. She placed 18th in the Division 4 cross country finals in 19:36.3 before winning a regional championship in the 800 and taking eighth in the state meet on the track. Wiegand is on track to become a rare five-time state cross country qualifier.

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 Female Athlete of the Year