Vote Now for This Fall's Birmingham Athlete of the Season
Vote from a list of very deserving candidates on who should be named the Patch Athlete of the Season for Birmingham.
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There were a lot of great individual performances from high school athletes in Birmingham this fall and we want to hear from our readers which one they thought was the best.
Here are the candidates:
Devin Church (Senior; Brother Rice football) – Church led Brother Rice High School to a Division 2 championship this year with over 240 yards in the finals and he racked up over 900 yards in the playoffs. He also set a new single season rushing record for the Warriors this season. Church earned a full scholarship to Northern Illinois to play football.
Mary Henry (Senior; Marian volleyball) – Henry was a finalist for the Miss Volleyball award in her senior year. As the Mustangs setter, she racked pushed her all-time assist total to over 5,000 this season. Henry signed a letter of intent to play college volleyball at Duquesne University
Jaynie Pulte (Senior; Marian swimming) – Pulte had a tremendous year for the Mustangs picking up an individual championship in the 50-yard freestyle and All-State honors in the 100-yard butterfly. It was the second consecutive season she won the Division 1 50-yard freestyle and her time of 23.23 was a new record. Pulte signed a letter of intent to swim at Stanford.
Aubrey Wilberding (Junior; Seaholm cross country) – Wilberding helped lead the Seaholm girls to a fourth place finish in the Division 1 state finals, finishing 11th place with a time of 18:23 and earning All-State honors for the first time.
Keon Collier (Senior; Groves football) – Collier made the All-OAA team this season leading the Falcons in rushing. He finished the year with over 1300 yards rushing and had 20 touchdowns. He helped led Groves to a share of the OAA Blue title this season and the team’s first win over Seaholm in years.
Essence Biggs (Senior; Seaholm golf) – Biggs finished in seventh place this year in the Division 2 state finals this year at Oakland University Katke-Cousins golf course. In the Maples regional, the senior shot the top score of to help Seaholm qualify as a team for the finals. She signed a letter of intent to golf at Seminole State College.
Rishi Patel (Sophomore; Detroit Country Day tennis) – As the No. 3 singles for the Yellowjackets, Patel won the individual championship in Division 3 in two sets (6-1, 6-1) over the top seed Mike Kincaid from St. Joseph. The freshman breezed through the tournament and didn’t lose a single set.
Tariq Akeel (Senior; Detroit Country Day soccer) – One of the top soccer players in the state of Michigan helped Country Day reach and win the Division 3 soccer finals this season. Akeel was the leading scorer on team with 12 goals and also had 10 assists this season. The senior will play soccer at Brown next year.
Want to write in your own candidate? Go ahead! But be sure to explain your pick in the comments and be sure to vote by 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7. Final results will be posted on Friday, Dec. 9.
And while you're at it, make sure to vote for athletes in other areas:
dahlia
10:30 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011
WHY ARE THE 2 DCDS ATHLETES LISTED UNDER BOTH BLOOMFIELD HILLS & BIRMINGHAM? THIS IS DILUTING THEIR VOTES!
josh
9:02 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tariq Akeel is the top athlete here without a doubt.
dahlia
11:32 pm on Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Congrats Rishi! Go DCDS!!!
-Tariq's mom