The 2024-25 high school sports season has come and gone. Now, tell us which female athlete deserves to be crowned as the AOTY:
After yet another exciting high school sports season around the Otsego County area, it's time for you to decide which high school athlete had the best year.
It was a year to remember for Gaylord area female athletes as state title contenders and all-state level performers dotted area fields, courts and tracks. Athletes from Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston were considered based on individual accolades, team success and their perceived impact on their teams.
Voting will conclude on Thursday, July 17 at 9 a.m.
Aubrey Jones, Gaylord
Sports: Softball, volleyball
With her high school career wrapped, Gaylord's Aubrey Jones has a case to be made as the best female athlete in GHS history.
A three-time all-state selection and two-time state champion, Jones finished her final high school softball season in style, leading GHS with 16 home runs and 52 RBIs while going 7-3 with 140 strikeouts and a 1.62 earned run average in the circle. She was the GHT Softball Player of the Year for a second-straight season and helped the Blue Devils reach a fifth-straight Division 2 regional championship game.
She also returned to the GHS volleyball team this fall and made a big impact, earning second-team all-area honors after leading GHS with 41 blocks.
Jones is signed to play Division I softball at Oklahoma State University.
Katie Berkshire, Gaylord
Sports: Cross country, Track and field
Junior Katie Berkshire has been one of the most consistent distance runners in Northern Michigan for three-straight seasons now.
With the GHS cross country team in the fall, Berkshire won her second-straight D2 regional title with a time of 17 minutes, 31.1 seconds, her personal best time, before finishing third overall at the D2 state finals with a time of 18:04.3.
Then, she had another standout season on the track, finshing as the D2 state runner up in both the 1,600-meter run (4:58.14) and the 3,200-meter run (10:36.05).
Allie Nowak, Johannesburg-Lewiston
Sports: Cross country, Track and field
If JoBurg had a soccer team, there's a chance Allie Nowak would've pursued that over track and field. Instead, she finished her high school career as the best track and field athlete in JoBurg history.
Entering her senior season as the reigning 800-meter state champion, Nowak repeated at the D4 state finals back in June, winning her second-straight state title in the event with a time of 2:18.45.
Nowak was also part of the school's first-ever team state championship as sophomore back in 2022 with the girls cross country team. She also won a D4 regional title and finished fifth at her final cross country state finals race back in the fall.
Brittney Fox, Johannesburg-Lewiston
Sports: Basketball, softball, volleyball
With Jayden Marlatt graduated and off to Ferris State, the JoBurg girls sports teams needed a new senior leader for the 2024-25 school year. That ended up being senior Brittney Fox.
An all-area selection in volleyball, basketball and softball, Fox was one of, if not the best player for all three teams she was on and helped JL stay among the most competitive teams in the Ski Valley Conference, regardless of the season and sport.
Fox led JoBurg volleyball with 289 digs and was second behind GHT Player of the Year Madi Peppin with 196 kills and 9 blocks. In the winter, she was again an All-Area and All-Ski Valley first-team selection before wrapping the spring with All-State honors in softball after finishing with a .522 batting average, 45 RBIs, 51 runs scored and four home runs.
Kaylee Jeffers, Gaylord St. Mary
Sports: Volleyball, basketball, softball
Much like her male counterpart Daniel Jacobson, junior Kaylee Jeffers has to do a lot for the GSM teams she is on, usually serving as one of the leaders for all three squads she is part of.
She is probably best known for her role as the point guard for one of the top D4 girls basketball teams in the state, averaging 13.5 points, 4 assists and 3.7 steals per game this past season. She was also an All-SVC honorable mention in both volleyball and softball.
Payton Glasby, Gaylord St. Mary
Sports: Volleyball, basketball, softball
Also a versatile athlete for many Snowbirds teams, Glasby's mixture of size and athleticism makes her one of the most unique and impactful players for all three programs she's a part of.
Glasby was the GHT Girls Basketball Player of the Year, leading the SVC champion Snowbirds with 19.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. She also led the team with 22 blocks and was second on the team with 85 steals.
She was also GSM volleyball's lone first-team selection in the fall while earning All-SVC honorable mention for her efforts on the softball diamond in the spring.
Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Vote for the Gaylord-area Female High School Athlete of the Year
Category: General Sports
