A look at the top storylines for the upcoming fall high school season

The 2023-24 sports season is all wrapped up after the conclusion of the Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.

So what do Lenawee County sports fans have to look forward to for the upcoming school year? Well, there's never a shortage of storylines around here, so here are a few we're looking forward to in the upcoming fall season:

Can Emmry Ross win another title?

Onsted's Emmry Ross is coming into her senior season and she's already one of the most decorated athletes in the county's history.

She's won a handful of Lenawee County Runner of the Year honors in both cross country and track and field, she won the Division 3 girls team state runner-up title by herself after winning four individual state titles.

However, she's yet to win at Michigan International Speedway at the MHSAA state championships as she's took fifth last season and third in her sophomore season. It certainly won't be easy as three of the girls who finished ahead of her will return, but Ross has risen above all other challenges in her high school career.

What's next for LCS?

The Lenawee Christian football team has won state championships in three of the four seasons in the 8-man division, including last season's title run.

This season however, the Cougars will be under a new head coach, Josh Powers. Powers is no stranger to LCS as he's been an assistant for some time now, but with a lot graduating from last season, the Cougars will surely have a new look to them this season.

This isn't the first time LCS graduated a number of student-athletes from a state championship squad as the Cougars have been reloading instead of rebuilding for some time.

Speaking of LCS...

The volleyball team also had a season to remember last year, holding onto the No. 1 Division 4 state ranking for a bulk of the season before falling in the state semifinal.

Much of the team graduated so, much like their classmates on the football team, what will the volleyball team have in store?

LCS has dominated the county tournament, winning three-straight titles, but as mentioned above, most of the team is gone and a new group will have to step up.

So what area volleyball program will step up? Perhaps it'll be the Cougars themselves with a new group, Tecumseh led by junior Emma Eldred or maybe reigning Player of the Year Molly Brown can lead a new supporting cast in Addison.

There were a lot of seniors on last year's all-county rosters, which means there are lots of holes to fill for the 2024 all-county squads and plenty of opportunities for young, up incoming volleyball players to become local standouts.

Big year for soccer

The boys soccer scene in Lenawee County has the opposite problem as volleyball with plenty of returning all-county names.

There will be a new player of the year as Adrian's Joey Spagnoli graduated, and coach of the year for that matter as Ted Hanosh stepped down for the Maples. So who and what teams will be stepping up this season?

Adrian and Clinton both return two First Team All-County selections with the Maples bringing back goalkeeper Gary Kemerer and midfielder Nathan Wojcik while the Redwolves have Angel Rubio and Samson Schaffner back on the pitch.

Lenawee Christian also returns a few all-county recipients, including first-teamer Eli Brainard and second-teamers Max Stamats and Landon Chadek. Blissfield will return Blake Wood and Evan Vore, both second-team selections and an honorable mention in Matthew Wolfe.

Adrian golf making a run

The Maples girls golf team made it back to the state meet for the first time in awhile last year as they took 17th in the Division 3 meet.

Adrian will return the entire team of juniors to the squad, including golfer of the year Cassidy Hawken, as the Maples will look to climb the final rankings with their senior group.

These are only a few of the storylines we expect to come this fall with plenty more sure to come as the season progesses.

For now, practice begins in a matter of weeks for MHSAA student-athletes as across the state coaches and athletes alike are preparing for new seasons.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: A look at the top storylines for the upcoming fall high school season