NTWSR 'ELITE 8' FEMALE ATHLETES LED BY ATHLETE OF THE YEAR McKENNA LIGHTNER (2023-06-26)
Northern Tier West Sports ReportTIOGA COUNTY —There were league and district titles collected and State-level performances by our female athletes in the West throughout the year, and NTWSR recognizes the following as our
All-Tioga County ‘Elite 8’ Athletes of the Year .. led by
NP-Mansfield’s McKenna Lightner as our Female Athlete of the Year.
As a vital member of a pair of District title winning teams .. NP-Liberty volleyball and softball .. and an undersized post-player that held her own against the league’s best every game for the NP-Mansfield Lady Tigers basketball team, junior McKenna Lightner is the All-Tioga County Girls Athlete of the Year.
Lightner started her year off by winning an NTL and a District 4 Championship in volleyball where the libero had 241 digs, 292 serves received, 132 points and 16 aces for the Lady Mounties. The Lady Tigers struggled to a 3-17 record this basketball season, but Lightner was a bright spot despite giving up a height advantage most nights and grabbed over eight rebounds and scored five points per game. This Spring, Lightner manned shortstop for the NTL and District 4 Champion Lady Mounties softball team and had five home runs, seven doubles and a triple among her 20 base hits with 24 runs scored, 15 RBI and 10 walks drawn.
All-Tioga County ‘Elite 8’ Female Athletes of the Year
McKenna Lightner, NP-Mansfield, (volleyball, basketball, softball), jr. .. see above.
Ashley Woodring, Cowanesque Valley, (soccer, basketball, softball), soph. .. was an exceptional presence in the net for Williamson’s soccer team .. with 97 saves, four shutouts and only 24 goals allowed .. was named NTWSR All-Tioga County Girls Soccer Player of the Year; Scored nine points per game and grabbed six rebounds for the Lady Indians basketball team; hit .434 with 23 base hits for the NTL Small-School softball champs;
Haley Litzelman, NP-Liberty, (volleyball, basketball, softball), fr. .. was primarily a JV player but did see limited action for the NTL and D4 volleyball champs; was instrumental to the Lady Mounties’ basketball team’s five-win improvement, averaging 9.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.1 steals per game with 54 three pointers .. The Sports Reports All-Region Newcomer of the Winter; In the Spring, the Mounties’ clean-up hitter had a .402 batting average with 33 base hits (8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 HR), 26 runs scored and 36 RBI. The freshman also threw 23 innings and had a 3-0 record with a 0.61 ERA and 38 strikeouts.
Gracie Stephens, Williamson, (volleyball, basketball, softball), sr. .. helped the volleyball team to a 12-7 finish with 439 assists, 359 digs, 253 points, 79 aces, 93 kills; a valuable leader as the basketball team’s point guard, scored three points, grabbed three rebounds, handed out three assists and had two steals per game; hit .324 and had a .588 on-base-percentage with 11 base hits and 18 runs scored in an injury-shortened Spring;
Ella Churchill, Cowanesque Valley, (soccer, basketball, softball), soph. .. was an All-Tioga County first team soccer player for Williamson in the Fall; scored 7.5 PPG and had 6 RPG for the Lady Indians basketball team; after running Track as a freshman, returned to softball this season and was an immediate contributor to the small school champs, hitting over .300 with 15 base hits;
Paige Logsdon, Wellsboro, (volleyball, basketball, softball), soph. .. the sophomore was on her way to a year-long, Athlete of the Year-type of performance before an injury at the end of basketball season sidelined her for softball; was the All-Tioga County Defensive Player of the Season in volleyball with 121 blocks, 161 kills, 98 digs, 130 points and 26 aces; 9.4 PPG, 10 RPG, 16 B, 26 S and for the Lady Hornets’ basketball team;
Addison Farrer, NP-Mansfield, (XC, basketball, T&F), jr. .. placed 13th at Cross Country Districts and qualified for and ran at the State Championships, placing 166th; scored 9.1 points and had 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 steals per game for the Lady Tigers; placed 8th in the 3200 meter run at NTL’s and qualified for and ran both the 3200 and the 4x800 meter relay at Districts;
Taylor Rae Jones, Williamson, (volleyball, basketball), jr. .. was first-team All-Tioga County in volleyball, recording 261 kills, 283 digs, 47 ace, 34 assist and 18 blocks; in basketball, was the All-Tioga County Offensive, Defensive and overall Player of the Year .. scored nearly 14 points per game, added nine rebounds and four steals per game .. was second team on The Sports Reports All-Region team;
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