Austin HoughSouth Bend Tribune
Congratulations to Buchanan senior Hannah Herman for winning the 2024 South Bend Tribune Female Athlete of the Year fan vote. In what ended up becoming a battle between two southwest Michigan schools, Buchanan edged Brandywine senior Ellie Knapp in a poll that had nearly 129,000 total votes.
More: New Prairie's Reed Robinson wins 2024 South Bend Tribune Male Athlete of the Year fan vote
A reminder: this was a fan vote, and that the official South Bend Tribune Male and Female Athlete of the Year selections will be coming out in the next week or so.
Here is more on Herman and the other 14 nominees from this poll.
WINNER: Buchanan (Mich.) senior Hannah Herman
Herman batted .504 with 14 doubles, five triples and three home runs for the Bucks softball team this spring, who advanced to the MHSAA Division 3 state semifinals.
OTHER NOMINEES
Argos senior Samantha Redinger
Redinger finished as the Indiana state leader in points scored per game this basketball season, averaging 29.8 points for the Dragons.
Brandywine (Mich.) senior Ellie Knapp
Knapp led the Bobcats to a MHSAA Division 3 girls basketball state runner-up finish, the best in program history. She averaged 13.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5 assists and 3.9 steals per game.
Brandywine (Mich.) junior Maddison Ward
Ward went 37-1 on the wrestling mat, finishing off the season by winning an MHSAA state championship in the 170-pound weight class.
New Prairie junior Ava Geyer
Geyer was a catalyst for the Cougars reaching the IHSAA Class 3A softball semistate title game. The anchor of the pitching staff, she went 18-4 with a 0.99 ERA and 284 strikeouts. She also batted .429 with a team-high six home runs.
NorthWood junior Claire Payne
Payne excelled in three sports once again for NorthWood. In volleyball, she had 348 kills, 62 blocks and 65 digs for a team that reached the final four of Class 3A. In basketball, Payne averaged 10.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 1.5 spg and 1.3 bpg on a regional-winning group. In the spring, she qualified for the state track and field meet in the high jump.
Penn senior Lily Christianson
Christianson capped a historic swimming career by winning three state championships at the IHSAA state finals in February, triumphing in the 50-yard freestyle (state record time of 21.72 seconds), the 100-yard freestyle (48.45 seconds) and as part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:31.94). This gave her six state titles for her career, the second most of any area athlete of all time.
Penn senior Mary Eubank
Eubank finished 21st at the state cross country finals in the fall, then came back in the spring to take 11th at state in the 3,200-meter run at the track and field finals.
Penn senior Abby Widmar
Widmar was a constant for a Kingsmen team that reached the Class 4A semistate softball title game. She finished with a .419 batting average, 48 RBI, 12 doubles and three home runs.
Plymouth senior Sophie Wray
Wray surprised many when she finished 17th at the state cross country meet in the fall. Then, in the spring, she was a three-time track sectional champion before advancing to the state finals in the 1,600-meter run.
South Bend Clay junior Maliya Freeman
Freeman played three sports in the final year of Clay High School, with volleyball and basketball being her two best. In volleyball, she had 212 kills, 52 aces and 46 blocks. On the basketball court, she averaged 11.6 ppg, 11.1 rpg and 2.8 bpg for a Colonials team that reached the sectional championship game.
South Bend Saint Joseph senior Molly Bellia
Bellia was the No. 1 singles player for the Huskies girls tennis team that won the IHSAA state championship in the spring. She went 26-3, giving her 103 career victories. Bellia also was named a second-team all-NIC selection for cross country in the fall.
South Bend Saint Joseph junior Berkley Zache
Zache continued her excellent prep softball career this spring, going 11-2 in the pitcher's circle with a blistering 0.08 ERA and 201 strikeouts. She also batted .356 with 19 RBI.
South Bend Saint Joseph senior Riley Zache
Another Zache sister, the older one batted .506 with 10 home runs, nine doubles, seven triples, 43 RBI and 39 runs scored in her final high school softball season.
South Bend Washington junior Kira Reynolds
Reynolds continued to show why she's one of the best all-around girls basketball players in the state this winter, averaging 16.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 2.3 spg and 6.5 bpg for the sectional-winning Panthers.
