Voting is open for Hillsdale County Athlete of the Week April 20-26

HILLSDALE COUNTY — Voting is now open for the reader's choice Athlete of the Week poll for April 20-26. Vote now for your favorite athlete through Friday, May 1 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

More: Lawless homers to lead recent baseball, softball top performers

The Hillsdale Daily News will name its own choice award winner to be named alongside the reader's choice honoree. The winners will be announced after the poll closes. Athlete nominations can be made by coaching staffs before Sunday of each week. Polls will be monitored for foreign I.P. addresses.

Last week's winners were Jonesville junior baseball player Carson Young and Pittsford senior Laura LeMar.

Nominees

Desman Lawless – North Adams-Jerome Baseball: The sophomore ace struck out 13 in a win over Waldron, allowing just one hit. He had three hits, one RBI and two runs in the 12-0 win. Against Tekonsha in an 18-1 win, Lawless hit a home run over the left-center field fence for the first time in a while at North Adams-Jerome’s baseball field. Lawless finished the game with a triple and a double.

Grayson Rorick – Hillsdale Academy Boys Track and Field: The senior all-state distance runner earned two wins in the 1,600-meter run, including a season-best time of 4:20.48 to win the Mason Bulldog Invitational, earning early qualifying marks for the 2026 state finals. It was his fourth win in a row this season. He also qualified for states in the 800-meter run at the Bulldog invite – earning the win with a season-best time of 1:58.05. He also led the 4x400 relay team to a win at the SCAA double-dual at Colon. He currently ranks first in the 1,600-meter run standings for the Area Best meet and second in the 800.

Brayden Wright – Reading Boys Track and Field: The senior sprinter hasn’t finished outside the top three in any 100 and 200-meter sprint events this season so far. This included a new first-place finish at the Bronson dual in both events and a second-place finish at the Union City Invite, where he posted season-best times. He had a time of 11.26 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22.90 in the 200. This put him in the top two for the 100 and first in the 200 Hillsdale Area Best standings. Wright also ran in the 4x100 against Bronson, helping the team earn a win and second in the current Area Best standings.

Leah Headley – Reading Softball: Leah Headley helped her team win both of their games the week of April 26. The junior ace pitched all five innings of a 13-3 win over Athens, striking out eight and allowing just two earned runs. Headley added a hit, an RBI and two runs to the effort. Headley also pitched in relief in the 8-6 win over Tekonsha. Headley earned the win with 11 strikeouts over five innings, allowing two earned runs. Headley added a double and a triple-base hit, scoring twice.

Lucy Cote – Hillsdale Academy Girls Track and Field: Hillsdale Academy junior Lucy Cote dominated the early Hillsdale Area Best girls track standings after earning multiple times that put her on top of five event lists. Cote currently leads the 100-meter dash, 400-meter sprint, both hurdles events and is a member of the 4x400 leading relay team. Cote earned the top spot in the 100 in her first race, winning at the SCAA double-dual with a personal best time of 13.06 seconds. She also set a personal best time of 1:01.63 in the 400 – winning the event and putting herself on top of the Area Best standings with just one race. Cote ran down top three finishes in both the 100 and 300-meter hurdles at the Bulldog Invitational. Her respective times of 16.57 and 47.30 met early state qualifying standards. She anchored the 4x400 relay team to a win at the Bulldog Invite and just two-tenths away from state qualification.

Gavin Wright – Reading Baseball: Gavin Wright helped the Rangers bounce back and earn two wins over the weekend, a 20-1 victory over Tekonsha and an 11-4 win over Barry County Christian. Wright led the Rangers with four extra base hits – two doubles and two triples – against Tekonsha. He went 4-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scores. He added an additional three hits, a run and four RBIs against Barry County. Wright played catcher in both games and recorded 26 putouts for the week of April 26.

Madison Recob – Will Carleton Academy Girls Track and Field: After a couple years away from the sport, the senior thrower is back and leading the Hillsdale Area Best girls track and field standings for shot put. Her throw of 33-feet, 3 inches at the SCAA jamboree hosted by Climax-Scotts was a personal best and earned her the win. It also put her at the top of the shot-put standings.

Brayden Taylor – Hillsdale Boys Track and Field: Taylor and the 4x100 relay team took the Hornets to the top of the Area Best boys track standings with their fourth-place finish at the Trotwood Madison Invitational. Their time of 43.52 puts them more than a second ahead of second-place Reading — Taylor anchored the team. The Trine track signee added a first-place finish in the 400-meter relay split and earned a seventh-place finish with the 4x400 relay team.

Isaac Fether – Waldron Baseball: Waldron picked up a win during the weekend with a 194 victory over Tekonsha. The Spartans just missed out on a second victory against Barry County Chrisitan in a 12-11 final. Isaac Fether led the Spartans against Tekonsha with four hits, four RBIs and three runs. Fether added an additional three hits and a run against Barry County. He also caught the game before going in to relief pitch the final innings, striking out two batters.

Luke Webster – Hillsdale Baseball: Luke Webster led Hillsdale baseball with seven hits, three doubles, four RBIs and seven runs for the Week of April 26. This included an RBI double that helped Hillsdale earn a 10-1 win over Springport. The team just missed out on a win in the first game of the doubleheader – losing to the Spartans 7-6. Webster also finished the week with 14 putouts.

Hillsdale 4x100 Relay Team – Hillsdale Girls Track and Field: After earning No. 1 in the 4x200 relay Area Best standings the prior week (Ralph Rice Invite), the running group of Effie Heckel, Kiely Kroa, Sierra Kibert and Emily York defeated Hudson at a dual meet in the 4x100 relay, earning a final time of 54:34. This time shot them to the top of the Area Best Standings for the event. Kibert was the lead runner, and Emily York anchored the team.

Alexis Bryner – Pittsford Softball: Pittsford sophomore Alexis Bryner had two home runs in a single game against Concord. The performance drove in a total of four runs in the game. Despite losing the doubleheader, Bryner helped add more runs to the scoreboard in the second game with an RBI double.

Maddie Horn – North Adams-Jerome Softball: In the team’s first win of the season (recorded), North Adams-Jerome defeated Waldron 29-1. Maddie Horn earned the win in the circle – throwing three strikeouts over three innings and allowing just one earned run. Horn added two hits, two RBIs and four runs in the runaway victory.

No. 4 Hillsdale Tennis Doubles: It was a hard-fought win, but it managed to help the Hornets tie Columbia Central 4-4 in match score during a league dual. The Hillsdale varsity girls tennis No. 4 doubles team of Kiara Lovejoy and Liz Sumnar won their first match 7-5, lost a tough 6-2 second game, but won decisively 10-5 to earn the match points.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Vote for the Hillsdale County April 26 Athlete of the Week award