The next 10 years of girls golf in Livingston County will feel strange compared to the past 17.
There won’t be a Pietila sister playing for Brighton.
The five girls in the family have played in 15 of the last 17 state tournaments , an era which ended last fall when Abbie Pietila played her final round with the Bulldogs.
Three of the sisters played within the 2014-23 time frame which is being used to choose the best six-player lineup from Livingston County for the past 10 years. Five of the six players are from Brighton, which has finished second in the last two state tournaments.
Sydney Bradford
► School: Hartland
► Senior season: 2018
► Accomplishments: Bradford is the only non-Brighton player to crack this lineup. She was the No. 1 player on the first three Hartland teams to qualify for the state tournament, winning the 2018 regional championship by tying her own school record of 72. She became Hartland’s first all-state player that season after winning two tournaments and averaging 80.1.
Julia Dean
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2015
► Accomplishments: Dean played only one season of high school golf, but she certainly left her mark on the Brighton program. She won the 2015 state Division 1 tournament, earning Miss Golf for the state of Michigan. She announced her presence by tying the school record with a 68 in her first tournament. She averaged 72.9 for 18 holes. Dean played for the University of Arkansas, reaching the semifinals in 2016 and quarterfinals in 2017 of the Michigan Women’s Amateur.
Heather Fortushniak
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2017
► Accomplishments: Fortushniak was a two-time all-state selection who led the county with scoring averages of 76.3 for 18 holes and 37.0 for nine holes as a senior in 2017. She tied a school nine-hole record with a 33 at Warwick Hills, placed second and regionals and took 16th in the state tournament as a senior. She played four years for Kansas State.
Abbie Pietila
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2023
► Accomplishments: The last of the five Pietila sisters who starred for Brighton golf, Abbie made a name for herself by making first-team all-state as a senior last fall. She had the best finish on Brighton’s state runner-up team in 2023, tying for eighth in Division 1 with rounds of 82 and 76. She average 78.2 as a senior.
Annie Pietila
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2018
► Accomplishments: Pietila made first-team all-state three times, averaging 77.0 as a sophomore, 77.3 as a junior and 77.9 as a senior. She won regional championships as a sophomore and junior. Pietila placed eighth in the state tournament as a junior and tied for 10th as a senior. She went on to play for Northern Michigan University.
Maggie Pietila
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2020
► Accomplishments: Pietila was the county Golfer of the Year as a senior in 2020 and a two-time first-team all-stater. As a senior, Pietila finished third at regionals with a 77 and tied for sixth in the one-round state tournament with a 77. Her 81.1 average led the county. As a junior, she qualified individually for the state tournament by placing third at regionals, a finish that wound up ensuring the five Pietila sisters all played in four state finals. She played for Northern Michigan University.
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: All-decade team: Livingston County's best girls golf lineup for the past 10 years
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