Athlete of the Week is an initiative coordinated by Athletic Directors at School Districts within our central market. The program recognizes student-athletes who have exhibited exceptional performance, leadership, and sportsmanship during the week. The commitment and positive approach demonstrated by the selected students provide a model for their peers. Weekly, representatives from Hartland, Holly, Lake Fenton, Linden, and Fenton gather to vote on the top athlete in each sport. ChoiceOne Bank is honored to sponsor this enduring tradition, which has highlighted the achievements and dedication of student-athletes for more than thirty years.

 

September 8

Lila Nester, Linden - Volleyball

• 3 year starter, libero, captain. Lila is one of the best defensive players in our area and has helped us to a great start this season. In our match against Creek, she went 13-13 serving with 3 aces and even was able to hit going 4-4 with a kill. She also added in 15 digs. At our tournament this past weekend, we went 3-1 and she had 72 digs, went 54-56 serving with 11 aces, went 14-14 setting out of system with 7 assists, and was also stellar on service receive.

Ava Goodman, Hartland - Girls Cross Country

• Ava had a great week of racing. She finished 4th in our Dual meet, helping Hartland beat both Novi and Plymouth. She then placed 8th overall at the Holly Invitational to lead Hartland to a second-place finish in a time of 19:27.

Broden Ladd, Holly - Boys Cross Country

• Broden lead his Holly team to a 2nd place team finish on Saturday at the Holly-Duane Raffin festival of races. Broden won his 1st ever invitational with a time of 16:31 on a challenging course. Broden has copeted in 4 races this season and finished 7th or better in every race.

Savannah Peters, Holly - Girls Golf

• Savannah had a great week. On Tuesday, Savannah shot 77 at the Saginaw Heritage Invitational to win the tournament individually by four shots and set the all time 18 hole scoring record for the Bronchos. On Wednesday, Savannah was co-medalist in our match against Flushing. On Friday, Savannah shot 78 at Oakland County Division 2 tournament placing 4th overall and earning the opportunity to play in the Division 1 tournament later this month.

Layne Barz, Fenton - Girls Swimming and Diving

• Swam 2 great meets this week. She finished 1st the 100 Fly against Walled Lake Northern with a misca cut and time of 1:03.84
  Swam the Butterfly leg of the 200 Medley Relay against Corunna, finishing first with a state cut time of 1:59.27

Haywood Denooijer, Lake Fenton - Boys Soccer

• Haywood had a really good week for us. He had assists in 3 of our 4 games. Finished the week with 4 assists. He was one of our key players as we played 4 really different games against Flushing, Brandon, Airport and D1 Franklin.

Bryce Wagar, Holly - Boys Soccer

• Bryce picked up a shut out last week against kearsley along with 5 saves in the match. He also picked up 6 saves against Clio and scored a goal for us as our goalkeeper in the last 10 minutes.

Dexter Todd & Brady Danner, Lake Fenton - Boys Tennis

• Dexter and Brady had a great week defeating Goodrich 6-2, 6-3 and helping the team defeat Flushing and putting an end to their 64 match undefeated streak going back to September of 2017. Dexter and Brady have led the doubles flights as the only returners with a 5-4 record at 1 doubles and helped the team to their Flint Metro League leading 5 wins and 1 tie to remain atop the league standings.

Braylon Krancevic, Holly - Football

• Braylon rushed for 243 yards on 20 carries in Holly's 36-28 victory over Swartz Creek. Braylon was part of a rushing attack that set the Holly HS all time record for rushing yards in a game with 464 Friday night.

 

September 15

Hayden Preister, Hartland - Boys Cross Country

• Hayden had a great race at the Jackson Invite. He broke 17 for the first time running 16:57 and was Hartland's seconmd finisher.

Gage Bridenstine, Lake Fenton - Boys Soccer

• Gage is our primary goalie. He had a really big game for us against Holly this week. He had multiple big, timely saves. He saved a breakaway along with multiple high pressure saves when the score was 1-1 and gave us the chance for us to eventually score and take the lead. He was 2-0 on the week for us in goal.

Dillon Hamilton, Fenton - Boys Soccer

• Scoring 4 goals and 5 assists to make a total of 17 goals and 18 assists in 11 games for the season

Baylen Guiles & Jay Heil, Lake Fenton - Boys Tennis

• Baylen and Jay had a great victory over Brandon this week 6-2, 6-2 and a very good win over a talented St. John's Team at the Holt Quad. They have an overall record of 8-6 on the season with only 1 loss in Metro League Play in their very first Varsity Match in practicing only a couple times together prior. The boys are some of the main glue that holds the doubles together and have helped the team to 7-5-2 record. They were also the deciding match in the Flushing Dual to give the Blue Devils the win.

Max Widner, Linedn - Football

• Max threw 8 for 12 for 238 yards and 3 TDS with 1 rush for 31 yards in a 42-6 win over Holly

Brielle Bastionell, Hartland - Girls Cross Country

• Brielle had a great week of racing. This weekend she placed 57th out of 250 at the Jackson Invite. She broke 20 minutes for the first time running a time of 19:34. She is now our 6th fastest freshman all time.

Sam Collins, Fenton - Girls Golf

• On Monday in the match against Goodrich played at the Flint Elks, Freshman Sam Collins led the team by shooting a 46. Then on Thursday in a match against Flushing played at Tyrone Hills, Sam shot a 50 to help the team to a team score of 207 unfortunately that was not good enough to win the match. Sam has been working very hard all year to improve and it is starting to really show.

Katie Dunfield, Fenton - Girls Swimming and Diving

• At the Genesee County Championships this weekend, Katie won 2 individual events, and one relay. Her 200 Free was a Genesee County Record (1:51.22) and her 500 Free was also a Genesee County Record(22 yr old record) as well as a pool and school record 4:58.41, just off the All-American standard. She was also part of the 1st place 400 Free Relay

Marley Pihlstrom, Fenton - Volleyball

• Marley had an outstanding week, playing a key role in our win over Flushing. She hit an impressive .500, recording 14 kills on 24 attacks. At the service line, she was perfect, 13 for 13, including one ace. Defensively, Marley added 3 blocks and 2 digs, and even chipped in with an assist. Her all-around performance reflects her value as a true team player. Marley brings incredible energy to the court and continues to be a driving force for our team’s success

 

September 22

Ricardo Munoz-Garcia, Lake Fenton - Boys Soccer 

• Ricky has been an instrumental player in our turn around from 2 FML wins last year to 6 this year with 2 to play. Ricky had a strong week for us this week helping us go 2-1 on the week. He had 3 assists in our games against Owosso (2-1 win) and Charyl Stockwell (3-2 win). While he did not hit the stat sheet as we were shut out against Fenton, he was tasked to help control the mid-field against Fenton’s talented mid-field and was one of the main reasons we were able to keep that game close as well as have quality opportunities to maybe score. 

Alexis Stone, Fenton - Volleyball 

• Lexi had an outstanding week of play, playing a crucial role in our wins over Linden and Swartz Creek. She was perfect from the service line, going 24-for-24 with 5 aces. Lexi also posted a strong serve receive rating of 1.9 and added an impressive 40 digs across just two matches. Additionally, she contributed 3 assists. Lexi brings tremendous energy to the court and has done an excellent job emerging as both a leader and a go-to player for the team.

Cole Heikka, Holly - Boys Cross Country

• Cole Heikka had a big week helping the Holly bronchos earn a 1st place team finish in the FML Jamboree #2 at Linden HS - with a 4th place individual finish. On Saturday Cole finished in 7th overall in a time of 16:40. Coles finish helped his team win the Blue Division of the Blue Jay Invitiational at Shepherd on Saturday. Great work Cole!

Ana Lovell, Lake Fenton - Girls Cross Country

• Ana ran a 19:42 to take 2nd place at Jamboree #2

Elizabeth (Libby) Linton, Hartland - Girls Swimming and Diving

• Libby has had a very strong start to the season, dropping time in almost every event, and getting PRs in many others. She has been swimming some new events this season, and she has been taking on this challenge with a determination to succeed, and she has. Some of her PRs follow: 200 IM (2:54.24), 100 Back (1:19.57), 200 Free (2:29.34), 100 Free (1:06.50)

Noah Sheil, Fenton - Football

• Noah was 15/20 passing for 198 yards and 4 touch downs. He also rushed for 124 yards on 11 carries in a 40 -22 win over Holly.

 

September 29

Jillian Ferrill, Lake Fenton-Volleyball   

• We had two league games this week in Jillian had 42 kills 23 digs and four aces helping us sweep both competitors this week. 

Joe Coleman, Hartland-Boys Cross Country   

• Joe ran a lifetime best this weekend at the Greater Flint Cross country Championships. He ran 17:01 which was good for 28th place and 15th in Division 1.

Lila Miller, Hartland-Girls Cross Country   

• Lila had a great weekend of racing! She broke 20 minutes for the first time, running 19:51. She finish 19th overall and 9th in division 1 helping teh Eagles win the Greater Flint championships.

Aidan Moore, Linden-Football   

• Aiden had 7 catches for 190 yards and 3 TDs in a 45-12 win over Swartz Creek.

Brystol Perry and Cooper Thibo, Holly-Boys Tennis   

• Sophomores Brystol Perry and Cooper Thibo continue to impress in their first year on Varsity, embodying the team motto of “Every Second Counts.” Tireless competitors, they bring intensity to both practice and matches, and their leadership has grown as the season progressed.

  They closed out the regular season with a strong overall record of 12–6, a testament to their resilience and teamwork. In the postseason, on Tuesday, 9/30, their league season culminated in a championship performance at the Flint Metro League Tournament; where they won their flight at 3 Doubles and secured both the head-to-head championship and the league tournament championship.

  Throughout the season, Brystol and Cooper consistently faced strong competition and rose to the challenge. Their ability to stay composed under pressure and their determination to improve each week have made them a reliable and formidable doubles team.

  Beyond the scores, Brystol recently earned recognition from the athletic department for being a supportive and uplifting teammate, always encouraging others and helping to build team spirit. Cooper, meanwhile, balances tennis with his commitment to BMX, showing an outstanding work ethic and determination as a dual-sport athlete.

  Brystol and Cooper are known not only for their competitive spirit, but also for their commitment to growth and improvement - often putting in extra time around practices to refine their skills. Their energy, chemistry, and clutch performances have made them stand out leaders on the team.

  Congratulations, Brystol and Cooper! We are proud of you for representing Holly tennis with resilience, teamwork, and championship grit.