“Best of” Overall 2023-2024 – Female Standout Athletes
Brooke Cowger – South Central: Cowger was an important three sport athlete for the Lady Cougars and Patoka/South Central/Odin/Sandoval track and field. The I70Sports.com Volleyball Co-Player of the Year helped lead South Central to their third consecutive 20-win season in a row while leading the strong Lady Cougar hitting attack in kills with 255 and racking up 48 blocks while serving 37 aces with a serve percentage of 93.1%. Cowger was named National Trail Conference First Team All-Conference. On the basketball court Cowger was a steady senior presence in the paint for the Cougars, manning one of the forward positions averaging 5.5 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game. At the track, Cowger was dominant in her senior season with eight first place finishes in the shot put and five first place and four second place finishes in the regular season. Cowger was also a member of the 4×400 team that turned in seven top 3 finishes in the event.
Macee Rodman – CHBC: A three sport athlete for the Bobcats, Macee started out her junior year on the volleyball court leading CHBC in digs with 295 while being third in kills with 97 and third in aces with 31. This winter, Macee continued her strong high school career on the basketball court as she helped lead the Bobcats to an 18-win season, leading the team in scoring with 18 points per game while averaging 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.8 assists per game. Macee scored 575 points this season, including her 1,000th career point at Flora in February and now stands at 1,068 for her career as she prepares to head into her senior season. Macee was named 1st team All-NTC and 1st team All-EIC. On the softball field, Macee caught for the Bobcats while batting .217 with 10 hits, 7 RBI and led the team in steals with 9. Rodman also had a .955 fielding percentage with just 4 errors in 88 total chances.
Claire Boehm – Altamont: A two-sport athlete for the Lady Indians, Claire used her senior year to find creative ways to help her teams and continue to evolve as a player on the court and field. On the basketball court, after being looked upon for her offense her junior year, she became a defensive standout for Altamont this past season. Boehm averaged 4.3 points per game, 2.2 rebounds per game, 1.4 steals per game and 1.4 assists per game but the number she and Coach Carr are most proud of are the 19 charges Claire drew on the season, even keeping track of each one on “Charge Tracker”. On the softball field, Claire stepped back into the leadoff spot for the Lady Indians leading the team in batting average with .315 while also racking up a .351 on base percentage with a team leading 23 hits and driving in 13 runs and tallying a team high 15 stolen bases. She will be continuing her basketball career at Lincoln Trail College.
Grace Nelson – Altamont: Nelson stepped back from being a two-sport standout (track and basketball) earlier in her high school career to use her senior year to focus on returning from a knee injury that derailed her junior year. With focusing on just basketball, Grace put together one of the best girls basketball season ever in high school girls basketball in Illinois. In averaging 30.5 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game and 3.2 steals per game, Nelson helped lead the Lady Indians to a 28-7 record and a 3rd place finish at the IHSA 1A State Tournament. This season, Grace passed 2,000 points early on in a conference matchup at St. Anthony and ended up scoring over 1,000 points this season to finish her high school career with 2,862 total points and ranking 15th on the all-time state list, although she is sure to have finished much higher would she have had her full junior season. Grace was named the MVP of the National Trail Conference, was named to several all state teams including first team for the IBCA and was a finalist for Ms. Basketball in Illinois. Grace has already joined her next team, as she has begun training with her new teammates at Illinois State University where she will play collegiately.
Taegan Webster – South Central: Taegan wrapped up her career as a Lady Cougar starring on the basketball court and the softball field. On the court, Taegan averaged 18 points per game, 7.5 rebound per game, 2.5 assists per game and 3.5 steals per game for South Central. Taegan became the 6th Lady Cougar to reach the 1,000 career point milestone, hitting the career mark in a December home win over OPH and ended her career with 1,410 points. Taegen was named 2nd team All-NTC. On the softball field, Taegan was dominant in the pitcher’s circle with a season record of 19-9 with a 2.79 ERA and 250 strikeouts in 157 2/3 innings. Taegan was also dominant at the plate with a .460/.575/.885 slash line including 10 doubles, 2 triples, 7 HRs and 45 RBI on the season as she helped lead South Central to a 24-12 record and their third consecutive Regional Championship. Taegan is an I70Sports Softball Co-Player of the Year and was named multiple time First Team All-NTC and is a two-time All-State honoree.
Jenni Mezo – Mulberry Grove/Ramsey: While being a go to shortstop and leadoff hitter for the Lady Aces softball team, Jenni showed herself to be a go to on the volleyball court and basketball court as well in her junior year, as a three-sport standout. A defensive specialist and outside hitter for Mulberry Grove volleyball, Jenni tallied up 367 digs during the 2023 season, averaging 13.6 digs per match. Mezo also led the team in kills with 57 and was second on the team in aces with 33. Mezo was named Egyptian Illini Conference Second Team All-Conference. Playing basketball for the Ramsey/Mulberry Grove coop team, Mezo led the Lady Rams in scoring averaging 9.0 points per game and steals with 2.2 per game and would be named Second Team All-EIC. And in her stop sport of softball, Jenni led the Lady Aces with a .543 batting average, .594 on base percentage and a .702 slugging percentage. Jenni collected 51 hits and stole 31 bases and would end the season with a .961 fielding percentage and would be one of four Aces players to be named Third Team All-State.
Dayana Haslett – SEB/BSE: The freshman two-sport athlete made her name known early in her high school sports career, especially on the basketball court, averaging 18.5 points per game in her first week of Varsity basketball as a freshman starter for BSE and went on to average 16.6 points per game on the season in helping to lead the Lady Bombers to 26 wins. Dayana was named 1st team All-NTC, 1st team All-EIC and was an honored with being named to 3rd team All-State by the IBCA. Dayana then became big part of the SEB softball team’s rebuilding year under a new coach. Stepping into the #1 pitcher spot as a freshman, Dayana would throw two-thirds of the total innings for the Lady Eagles and would use her speed to lead SEB in steals with 19 on the season while also tallying 16 hits.
Ollie Whitehead – Vandalia: Sophomore year proved to be a breakout year for Ollie as she became a key three-sport athlete for the Lady Vandals. On the volleyball court, Ollie was 2nd on the Lady Vandals in kills with 89 from the outside hitter position. In basketball, Ollie became a dual threat for the Lady Vandals as she became an offensive weapon and used her speed to become a defensive pest to opposing teams. This past spring, Ollie was a mainstay at third base for the Lady Vandals batting .271 with 13 hits and 3 steals.
Lauren Johnson – South Central: In her first year at South Central, Lauren would see significant amounts of time for the Lady Cougars on the volleyball and basketball courts and softball field. Lauren became a part of a strong South Central hitting attack in volleyball with 31 kills and 17 aces while missing time for an ankle injury that saw her out for 25% of sets played by the Cougars. On the basketball court, Lauren teamed up with Cowger for an imposing four-five presence in the paint, averaging 6.5 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. Lauren’s most impressive season came on the softball field. The sophomore first basemen again battled an ankle injury but in her 17 games played put up a .388 batting average, .436 on base percentage and .530 slugging percentage with 19 hits, 23 RBI. On the mound, Lauren had a record of 3-1 with a ERA of 4.05 and holding opponents to a .239 batting average.
Lillie Eddy – Ramsey: A three-sport athlete for the Rams, Lillie was a key part of the volleyball and basketball teams for Ramsey this year. Continuing her team-leading volleyball season from her sophomore year, Lillie again was the top hitter for the Rams with 129 kills and was also the top blocker with 52 blocks and had 32 aces at the service line and 51 digs on defense. Moving to the winter, Eddy would split her time between two sports as she was on the Ramsey cheerleading squad while also being a starter on the Lady Rams basketball team. Eddy was second on the team with 5.5 points per game and in rebounds with 3.4 per game.
Madison Lupton – Vandalia: The junior stepped up into big leadership roles for both the Lady Vandals basketball and softball teams this year. This winter, Madison averaged 14.2 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game and 2.5 steals per game as both and offensive and defensive threat and will look to be a key part of the small senior class for the Lady Vandals in the 24-25 season. On the softball field, Madison showed a lot of toughness, battling through a lingering back issue to be second on the team in batting average at .429, on base percentage at .481, hits with 21 and led the team in home runs with 3, slugging percentage at .653 and runs scored with 10. Madison was held to just 27 innings on the mound averaging just over a strikeout an inning. Madison will again be looked at to be a leader for the Lady Vandals as she will look to be the only returning player that will be a senior for the Lady Vandals next Spring.
Micah Greenwood – Mulberry Grove/Ramsey: The Mulberry Grove senior can best be summed up with the word “leader” for her point guard play on the basketball court for Ramsey/Mulberry Grove coop and as the field captain as the catcher for Lady Aces softball. For the Lady Rams, Micah averaged 4.8 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game and around 1 assist and 1 steal per game. She shot 41% from the field to lead the Rams in shooting percentage and was second on the team with 20 steals. For Mulberry Grove softball, Micah would put together an impressive slash line of .437/.485/.632 while proving just why she is a Third Team All-State catcher with just 4 errors in 208 chances for a .981 fielding percentage and was a lock down catcher that very few attempted to run on as Greenwood threw out 3 of the 7 runners attempting to steal on her allowing just 4 stolen bases in 26 games.
Presley Williams – SEB/BSE: The St. Elmo sophomore built on her strong freshman year with a sophomore year that saw her Varsity roles grow. For SEB volleyball, Presley was second on the Lady Eagles in kills with 82 and also had 17 digs, 9 blocks and 3 assists. On the basketball court for BSE, Presley role continued to grow and she would again be a steady presence being third on the team with 7.8 points per game and 251 points on the season as the Bombers reached 26 wins for the season before falling in a very close Regional Championship game to end at 26-8. To wrap up her sophomore year, Presley was again impressive on the track as the sprinter would secure top 5 finishes in all but one 100m Dash race including five first place finishes, In the 200m Dash, Presley again finished outside the top 5 just once and had three first place finishes. Presley flourished even more when joining her teammates to continue raising the bar on Bombers relays as she anchored the 4×100 and 4×200 relays as well as filling in on the 4×400 team. The 4×400 team would break the school record on April 9 and just a month later, Williams would anchor the 4×200 team to a state qualifying 2nd place finish at the Altamont 1A Sectional.
“Best Of” Presented by Hosick Motors
Comments