Vote now for the reader's choice 2026 Spring Sports Female Athlete MVP

[ASFN Admin]

HILLSDALE COUNTY — Voting is now open for the 2026 reader’s choice Spring Sports Female Athlete MVP Award. The award, which includes nominated athletes from each school, is open until Friday, July 3, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The Hillsdale Daily News will choose its own Spring MVP honoree and a runner-up once the poll closes. Each school received one nomination, and additional nominations were made to include each spring sport once. Polls will be monitored for foreign I.P. addresses.

Honorable mentions and award winners will be printed in a future edition of the Hillsdale Daily News.

More: Hillsdale grad Brooklyn Whaley takes cheer career to Central Michigan

Nominees

• Zailey Conroy – Camden-Frontier Track and Field: Conroy had a breakout multi-sport sophomore year for the RedHawk. This culminated in qualifying three times for the Division 4 state track finals in the 100-, 200 and 400-meter running events. Conroy competed for a state title in the 400, taking third and all-state honors with a time of 1:01.19. It capped off a season where she earned six wins in the event, including a Hillsdale Area Best title, a league title and early state qualifying events. She took runner-up at regionals in the 400. At the state finals, Conroy placed 27th in the 100 and 15th in the 200. She was runner-up at the Area Best meet in both events and the SCAA champion in the 200. She had 10 wins combined in both events. She led the 4x400 team to all-league and top five runs in every race they ran.
• Kherington Ladd – Hillsdale Softball: After a breakout freshman year, Ladd continued to own the circle st Hillsdale softball’s ace pitcher with 157 strikeouts this season. She also led the team in batting average this season with .298. She tied for slugging percentage with .333 but led the team in base hits with 25. She added 20 runs, 19 stolen bases and 46 putouts for a .900 fielding percentage. As one of the top area pitchers, she will earn first team all-area honors.
• Cheyenne Goodlock and Dhara Patel – Hillsdale Tennis: Hillsdale girls tennis was anchored by their No. 1 doubles team of Cheyenne Goodlock and Dhara Patel – the team’s only senior graduate – for the 2026 season. The team earned multiple big wins for the Hornets this season, including vs. Leslie, Onsted and Columbia Central. They also won a match against Three Rivers in a tough draw coming back from an opening set loss to win the final two 6-4 and 10-0. At the league meet, the duo battled to a conference finals match against Lansing Christian, which came down to the wire. The team won the opening set 6-4 and lost the next two sets by just a couple match points (4-6, 8-10). They earned the second-place medal and all-conference honors for their efforts.
• Lucy Cote – Hillsdale Academy Track and Field: Cote competed for a state title in addition to helping the Colts girls track team earn a MITCA Team State championship. She was a qualifier for the Division 4 state finals in three events. The hurdles specialist was an Area Best, regional and conference champion in the 100 hurdles – earning eight race wins, including the state finals prelims. She ran 15.71 seconds in the championship race, taking runner-up and all-state in the event for a third consecutive year. She was a league and regional champion in the 300 hurdles, and she took fifth overall and all-state with a personal best 46.88 mark at the finals. Additionally, she took runner-up in both races at the MITCA Team State championship. She was a leg in the 4x400 relay team that qualified for states. She helped the team capture nine wins this season, including league, regional, MITCA and Area Best titles. The team of Kate Perry, Jane Whalen, Georgia Whalen and Cote took seventh and all-state at this year’s finals with a time of 4:13.98. In addition to MITCA, she helped the Colts win regionals and the SCAA conference this year – earning Athlete of the Meet honors at the SCAA finals.
• Bryn Rusk – Jonesville Softball: Rusk left her mark on the Jonesville softball program and looks to continue her career at Alma College. She earned first team all-league and future all-area first team honors, helping the Comets capture 11 wins. Her .400 batting average, .538 on-base percentage, .550 slugging percentage, 32 hits, 11 extra-base hits, 38 runs and 94 strikeouts in the circle were all team-highs. Rusk had six games with double-digit strikeouts and posted a perfect game against Vandercook Lake on April 10. She also added a combined no-hitter with teammate Addison Horton against Jackson. She added 15 RBIs, 11 steals and 44 putouts to her stats this season.
• Morgan Wood – Jonesville Soccer: A first-team all-league senior, the future Adrian College volleyball athlete was a team captain and scoring leader this season. Wood led the team to an overtime victory against Constantine in the district playoffs with the game-winner in the second overtime period. It was the first victory of the season and the first in two years for the program. She also helped lead the team to ties against Leslie and Stockbridge.
• Natalie Eichler – Litchfield Track and Field: Senior Natalie Eichler was a top 10 regional sprinter and a top five sprinter in Hillsdale County. The senior earned a top 10 finish in every 100 and 200 race, including seventh in both races at regionals. She took fourth place in the 100 at the Area Best meet with a personal best time of 13.61. Eichler took fourth in the 200 at the Area Best meet with a 28.10 personal best mark. She ran two relays for the Terriers, including the 4x100 relay team that earned top 10 marks in every race this season. The team earned six top five finishes, including a win and a fourth-place finish at the Area Best meet. The team of Flore Le Nechet, Abby Bills, Gracie Smalls and Eichler ran a 55.94 in their final race for a season best. She also ran in the 4x200 relay, where she helped the team take fifth at the SCAA championships and win a race this season.
• Maddie Horn – North Adams-Jerome Softball: Horn returned to the Rams after earning all-area and all-league honorable mention last year as one of the team’s top aces and playmakers. After the team cancelled its season. Horn joined coach Kody Hodshire and the baseball team. Hodshire credited Horn for her hard work at practice during the team’s district prep and district playoffs, and she made appearances in games. She will return as one of North Adams-Jerome’s top student athletes next fall.
• Laura LeMar – Pittsford Softball, Track and Field: LeMar was a multi-sport star athletethis spring. As one of the top pitchers in the area, she guided Pittsford to a 9-1 SCAA East season, a league championship and a winning record. The senior recorded four double-digit strikeout games and earned the win in nearly every Wildcats victory. She surpassed 125 strikeouts, threw two no-hitters and consistently controlled opposing lineups. At the plate and on the bases, LeMar was equally impactful. She finished with nearly 20 stolen bases, scored 30 runs, drove in at least 20 RBIs and hit three home runs. LeMar headlined a dominant all-league showing for Pittsford, which placed seven players on the 15-member first team all-league lists – led by LeMar’s captain/MVP honor. She will be a first team all-area honoree and in competition for Hillsdale Daily News softball MVP. LeMar also was a state-qualifying track and field athlete. The senior qualified for the D4 state finals in discus after earning five wins and placing top five in each event before the finals. Her wins included an Area Best title. She finished runner-up in several events to earn all-region and all-league honors. She threw a personal best 108-6 mark at MITCA to take second. At the state finals, she took 15th. In shot put, she had five top five finishes and an additional three top 10 finishes.
• Leah Headley – Reading Softball: Conference competition was tough for the Reading softball team this season, but the team continued to add to its postseason tradition of dominating the district playoffs with a 12-2 win to bring home the program’s fourth straight championship. Leading the way for the Rangers was junior Leah Headley, who stepped up into the main pitching role for the Rangers after an impressive all-area showing last season. Headleycontinued to impress, earning nine of the team’s 10 wins, including the district title game.She struck out 144 batters to a opponent batting average of .319. She threw four double-digit strikeout games and had a no-hitter. She led the team in batting average with .321 and runs scored with 25. She tied for first in hits with 27 and added 10 RBIs and 16 steals. In the field, she had 31 putouts and made four double plays.
• Becca Fether – Waldron Trap Team: Fether was one of the County’s top female trap shooters at the high school level in 2026. The senior was one of several Spartans to compete at the state tournament in Mason. She ended the tournament second in her division, High Gun junior varsity. She helped the team earn fourth overall for the season in 1A Conference 6.
• Hannah Kies – Will Carleton Academy Trap Team: Kies not only became the top high school trap shooter in Hillsdale County her final year, but also in the state of Michigan, regardless of gender or division, Kies shot perfect 50s (25/25) every week of the season. She finished with all-state honors, the High Female 2026 overall season average winner and all the top awards from the Michigan Trap Shooting State Tournament held in Mason. She finished the tournament with the top score of 99 out of 100 overall and a reverse run score of 85, easily taking No. 1 in Female Varsity High Gun and defeating the next best athlete, Jonathan Cole of Sheperd, for top overall score.

Reminder: Poll is open until Friday, July 3, at 11:59 p.m. ET

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Vote now for the reader's choice 2026 Spring Sports Female Athlete MVP

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