The 2026 all-Livingston County girls track and field team may be the greatest compilation of talent in county history.
The team features two state champions and seven athletes who made all-state. The top three 800-meter runners in county history are also on the team.
The future for the sport looks bright with two freshmen making the first team as individuals and two others on relay teams. Four other ninth-graders made the second team.
Charyl Stockwell has never had a girl make first-team all-county before, but has two selections from a Division 3 regional championship team.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Encounter at meet bridged 55 years of Howell track and field history
ALL-COUNTY BOYS TRACK AND FIELD: Four all-staters headline 2026 all-Livingston County boys track and field team
Lauren Hammond
► School: Charyl Stockwell
► Class: Senior
► Events: Sprints
► Accomplishments: Hammond made all-state in the 200 by placing sixth at the Division 3 finals in a school-record 25.84 seconds. She was 11th in the 100 in 12.60. Hammond swept the 100 and 200 at regionals.
Reese Messenger
► School: Hartland
► Class: Freshman
► Events: Sprints
► Accomplishments: Roedel set the county freshman record in the 100 by winning the Brighton Bulldog Invitational in 12.45 on April 25. Fowlerville’s Emma Roedel set the previous mark of 12.63 in 2013. She won the 100 at the KLAA meet. Her fastest 200 was 26.30.
Hannah DePestel
► School: Hartland
► Class: Sophomore
► Events: Middle distance
► Accomplishments: DePestel already has a 400 time of 57.77 that ranks her fifth and a 200 time of 26.15 that puts her ninth in county history. She missed all-state by one place in the 400, placing ninth at the Division 1 finals. She won the 400 in nine of her 10 regular-season meets, including at the KLAA championships.
Juliet Lewis
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Events: Middle distance
► Accomplishments: Lewis set the county record in the 800 with a time of 2:12.89 at the Division 1 finals, making all-state for the second time with a fourth-place finish. Lewis was a four-time state qualifier and two-time regional champion in the 800. In events she rarely ran, Lewis posted times of 59.60 for the 400 and 5:20.41 for the 1,600.
Lydia LaMarra
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Events: Distance
► Accomplishments: LaMarra, a two-time regional champion in cross country, added a regional title on the track in the 3,200. By running 10:59.91 at the Saline Golden Triangle meet, LaMarra became one of only 10 girls in county history to break 11 minutes in the 3,200.
Elliana Neuer
► School: Hartland
► Class: Senior
► Events: Distance
► Accomplishments: Neuer became the first Hartland girl to win a state championship when she won the 1,600 at the Division 1 finals. Neuer set school records in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 during high school season and lowered her school records in all three events over three days at Nike Outdoor Nationals. She ran 2:12.66 for the 800, 4:48.80 for the 1,600 and 10:38.03 for the 3,200. Her 800 and 1,600 times would be county records if they were run in a school meet. Neuer also made all-state by placing seventh in the 800.
Jaelyn Ray
► School: Pinckney
► Class: Junior
► Events: Distance
► Accomplishments: Ray won the state Division 2 championship in the 3,200 after placing second in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200 relay. She set the county 1,600 record by running 4:49.22 in Romeo, temporarily held the 800 mark of 2:12.96 and ran the second-fastest 3,200 with a time of 10:32.20. Ray won regional championships in the 1,600, 3,200 and 3,200 relay.
Davea Crowe
► School: Pinckney
► Class: Junior
► Events: Hurdles
► Accomplishments: Crowe has been the county’s top hurdler the past three years, making all-state twice in the 300s. She was second as a freshman and fourth this year in 44.90, a time that ranks her fourth in county history. Crowe was 11th in Division 2 in the 100 hurdles. She swept hurdles in the SEC White meet and won regionals in the 300s.
Bailey Yates
► School: Charyl Stockwell
► Class: Junior
► Events: Hurdles
► Accomplishments: Yates’ school records of 16.32 in the 100 hurdles and 49.31 in the 300 hurdles are far and away the best times in the short history of the Stockwell program. She was the regional champion in both hurdles, placing 18th in Division 3 in the 100s and 23rd in the 300s.
Jade Hamilton
► School: Brighton
► Class: Sophomore
► Events: Throws
► Accomplishments: Hamilton is poised to be the county’s top thrower the next two years after ranking second in shot put (34 feet, 2.5 inches) and third in discus (98-8). She won shot put in three dual meets and discus at the South Lyon freshman-sophomore meet.
Emma Kanka
► School: Howell
► Class: Senior
► Events: Throws
► Accomplishments: Kanka made all-state in shot put for the second time, placing fifth in Division 1, and was also all-state in discus with a seventh-place finish. She won regional championships in both events. Her throw of 42-1 at regionals ranks her fourth on the county’s all-time list in shot put. Kanka set the school discus record of 129-11 last season.
Kaydence Hoolsema
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Events: High jump
► Accomplishments: Hoolsema made all-state in high jump for the second time, placing fourth at the Division 1 finals with a leap of 5-4. She is the county’s first two-time all-state high jumper since Fowlerville’s Ashley Henry made it three times from 2001-03. Hoolsema won five of seven regular-season meets before taking second at regionals.
Ellie Shiposh
► School: Hartland
► Class: Freshman
► Events: Long jump
► Accomplishments: Shiposh had the best in-season long jump in the county by leaping 16-5.5 against Salem. She went 17-1.25 to place sixth at indoor states and 16-8 during a scrimmage against Milford. She was fourth in the KLAA and fifth at regionals.
Kendel Simmons
► School: Hartland
► Class: Junior
► Events: Pole vault
► Accomplishments: Simmons finished 17th at the Division 1 finals with a leap of 10-9 that ties her with four others for second on the county’s all-time list. She cleared 10 feet in six of her last seven meets, placing third at regionals with an additional-qualifying height of 10-6.
400 relay
► School: Brighton
► Runners: Addison Ries (Jr.), Quinn Holdridge (Fr.), Selena White (Sr.), Callie Kyser (Sr.)
► Accomplishments: Brighton finished fifth at regionals with a time of 50.23 that led the county this season. The Bulldogs were third in the KLAA meet with this same lineup.
800 relay
► School: Brighton
► Runners: Selena White (Sr.), Callie Kyser (Sr.), Faith Cullen (Sr.), Quinn Holdridge (Fr.)
► Accomplishments: Brighton ran a county-leading time of 1:47.00 at regionals, placing fourth. The Bulldogs were third in the KLAA meet in 1:47.54 with Addison Ries running instead of Cullen.
1,600 relay
► School: Hartland
► Runners: Layla Foguth (Fr.), Sophia Nunnery (Sr.), Elliana Neuer (Sr.), Hannah DePestel (Soph.)
► Accomplishments: These four runners broke the school record of 4:02.90 set in 2019 by running 3:59.01 in the Larry Steeb Memorial Meet of Champions on May 26. The Eagles were third at regionals and 15th in the Division 1 finals with Reese Messenger running instead of Nunnery.
3,200 relay
► School: Brighton
► Runners: Lydia LaMarra (Sr.), Maizie Cavanaugh (Sr.), Ella Lorenz (Soph.), Juliet Lewis (Sr.)
► Accomplishments: Brighton set the county record by running 9:15.20 to win the regional at Grand Ledge. Lewis ran on the previous school-record team in 2024.
Second team
SPRINTS
Callie Kyser, Brighton, Sr.
Jessica LeFeve, Charyl Stockwell, Fr.
MIDDLE DISTANCE
Brooke Wallace, Howell, Fr.
Ella Heffner, Charyl Stockwell, Sr.
DISTANCE
Ella Lorenz, Brighton, Soph.
Sophia Nunnery, Hartland, Sr.
HURDLES
Sophia Klask, Howell, Fr.
Breslyn Buckley, Howell, Fr.
HIGH JUMP
Zeva Hathaway, Pinckney, Sr.
THROWS
Alyssa Mainka, Brighton, Sr.
Alexis Erickson, Pinckney, Jr.
POLE VAULT
Becka Lethorn, Charyl Stockwell, Sr.
LONG JUMP
Norah Hull, Howell, Jr.
400 RELAY
Howell (Norah Hull, Sophia Klask, Hannah McMillin, Rylee Sams-Fisher)
800 RELAY
Pinckney (Davea Crowe, Kaylynne Baltzell, Addison Wroblewski, Emily Clark)
1,600 RELAY
Brighton (Faith Cullen, Callie Kyser, Ella Lorenz, Juliet Lewis)
3,200 RELAY
Hartland (Hannah DePestel, Sophia Nunnery, Layla Foguth, Elliana Neuer)
Honorable mention
Brighton: Katie Gray (Soph.), Talia Richards (Sr.). Charyl Stockwell: Penelope Usborne (Fr.). Fowlerville: Peyton Brooks (Soph.), Makenna Click (Soph.), Mariah Kirby (Sr.), Cayden Taylor (Sr.). Hartland: Gabrielle Desgrange (Fr.), Ava Goodman (Jr.), Grace Lesinski (Sr.), Lila Miller (Fr.), Evelyn Ritsema (Fr.), Ayla Smith (Soph.), Emmalee Tougas (Soph.). Howell: Reagan Mason (Fr.), Lilly Williams (Sr.). Pinckney: Julia Garcia (Sr.), Brooklyn Reason (Sr.), Viola Sharp (Jr.).
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Meet the 2026 all-Livingston County girls track and field team
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
