This week, as we inch closer and closer to 2018, we will be taking one last look at 2017 with various lists that will allow us to recap what was a phenomenal year in Livingston County high school sports.
Today, for our third installment, we will be taking a look at the area’s top-five female athletes of 2017. For reference, this is not who is believed to be our overall Athlete of the Year. That was decided over the summer, and Hartland’s Michelle Moraitis won for her success in cross country, basketball and track and field. Rather, this is a look at the best overall season from a female athlete in ’17.
Let’s get to it.
Honorable Mentions (The Next 5)
Maddie Gillett, Howell softball
Emma Johnson and Molly Carney also could have been on this list, but Gillett gets the nod for a ridiculous breakout sophomore campaign. She bashed a Howell record of 23 doubles — ninth in MHSAA history for a single season — and plated in 65 runs.
Emma Shinsky, Brighton girls soccer
Shinsky was the county’s only All-State selection from last season, making Second Team after scoring 16 goals and tallying two assists for Brighton, who made the Division 1 quarterfinals. Shinsky is now playing for Colorado State.
Lexey Tobel, Hartland girls basketball
Tobel led what was one of the most successful seasons ever for Hartland basketball, which is certainly saying something. She averaged 15.8 points over her last eight games to lead the Eagles to a district championship. She’s already won Freshman of the Week honors at the University of Detroit Mercy this season.
Paige Gallentine, Charyl Stockwell volleyball
One of the toughest omissions from the list, the sophomore outside hitter/setter made First Team All-State in Class C for the Sentinels, who went 40-8-2 overall and held the division’s No. 1 ranking midway through the season.
Michelle Moraitis, Hartland girls track and field
She certainly could have made it for basketball, too, but the former Eagle was our Track and Field Athlete of the Year, as well as our overall Athlete of the Year. Moraitis made All-State and set the county record in the 400 by finishing eighth at states. She also captained the First-Team All-County 800 and 1,600 relay teams.
The Top 5
5) Heather Fortushniak & Annie Pietila, Brighton girls golf
We’re cheating a bit here, but the two were essentially interchangeable for the Brighton girls golf team this past season. Both are certainly deserving of top-five status.
Fortushniak averaged 76.33 strokes for 18 holes and 37 for nine holes. She also tied the school record for a nine-hole round with a 33. Pietila averaged 77.25 and 38.4, finishing eighth at the Division 1 state tournament, where the Bulldogs were the runners-up, the best finish in school history.
4) Emily Beazley, Hartland girls lacrosse
There’s a long line of incredible players to come through the Hartland girls lacrosse program. And with Beazley’s performance in 2017, she thrust herself into the upper echelon of that list, with statistics that cracked the top 20 of MHSAA records. Her 83 goals were 20th in state history while her 112 points were 16th. She also scored eight goals in a game, which tied the seventh most in Michigan history. Beazley did this in just 21 games, leading the Eagles to the Division 1 semifinals for the sixth consecutive year.
3) Kellie House, Brighton swimming and diving
House just wrapped up a 2017 season in which she earned All-State distinctions in each of her four events, including top-eight finishes for the first time in her two individual events, the 200-yard freestyle and the 500. In the latter, House broke Brighton’s oldest school record, her time of 4 minutes, 59.77 seconds beating out Marie Blanchard’s from 1985. House was eighth in the 500 free, fifth in the 200 fee (1:52.26), helped her 200 free relay team take second (1:35.57) and 400 relay team finished in the top eight as well. House will swim for Bowling Green next season.
2) Veronica Pezzoni, Howell softball
From a statistical standpoint, the Howell softball team was one of the best in state history, the team breaking 15 single-season school records and entering the top six of the MHSAA record book in hits, runs, RBIs, doubles and triples.
Pezzoni had the biggest hand in that, as the senior second baseman herself broke four single-season Howell records and also climbed the MHSAA charts. A First-Team All-American, Pezzoni’s 76 hits last season is 28th in MHSAA history, while her career hits (207) is 47th. Her triples (25) is 16th, batting average (.542) is 15th, consecutive stolen base streak (84) is fourth and consecutive game hit streak (38) is fourth. Pezzoni is now playing for the University of Tennessee-Martin.
1) Courtney Casper, Brighton gymnastics
Casper accomplishes what no one in Livingston County had previously done and what only two other girls in the state had prior to her: winning four state championships at a single state meet. Casper did it in her first high school gymnastics season, too, winning the all-around gold medal, the floor exercise, the bars and tying for the vault championship as well. She was the first from Brighton to win the all-around and tied the Division 1 record for most at a single state meet.