Daily News Female Athlete of the Year 2021-22: Liv DeLong

Kyle Gaudette, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·3 min read

Jul. 28—Picking someone to be Athlete of the Year from the Daily News area is no easy task. But being a leading force behind two state championships like Liv DeLong was for Amesbury makes it a tad easier.

To be clear right from the jump, this award is being based on the complete, three-season 2021-22 athletic school year (fall, winter, spring). It is different from our 2021 Year-End Awards that were published in early January, which gave out a Male and Female Athlete of the Year for the previous calendar year, and could have potentially included athletes who graduated in 2021.

And in a loaded field of candidates, DeLong gets the nod.

Usually, these types of awards are reserved for three-sport athletes. But you could definitely argue that DeLong packed an entire career's worth of athletic achievement into two.

In the winter, the talented starting forward averaged 9.0 points per game to help Amesbury (21-4) win the CAL Baker title and, more importantly, the Division 4 state championship. She scored a season-high 21 points against Hamilton-Wenham in the St. Mary's tournament, and in the state semifinal win against South Hadley she filled the state sheet with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. She was part of the "Iron Five" of starters that played huge minutes all season, and when all was said and done she was named All-CAL and a Daily News All-Star for the second straight year.

Even with the new MIAA state playoff format being implemented this year, to win one state championship is impressive enough. Heck, it may be even more impressive than in year's past due to the potential for longer travel.

Which is exactly what DeLong and Amesbury softball faced in the spring.

After helping Amesbury dominate to their 9th straight CAL Baker title, DeLong and the team had to travel over two hours to Westfield for the Division 4 state semifinals against Wahconah. It didn't matter though, as DeLong — a Boston University commit — struck out 12 over six innings of relief to lead the team to a 7-1 win. The state finals was more of the same with a journey out to UMass Amherst, but after tossing a three-hit shutout with four strikeouts, Amesbury was celebrating a state title after a 1-0 win over Joseph Case.

In total, DeLong posted a 13-1 record this spring with a 0.35 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 80.0 innings pitched. She also hit .432 with 27 runs scored, 39 RBI and an area-high-tying 7 home runs. She was named CAL Baker MVP as well as Daily News MVP for the second straight year.

And there's very little better than two state championships.

"Liv speaks for herself," said softball coach Jacquie Waters. "She came off the winter winning a state title in basketball, but she'd still be working on her hitting and pitching on Sundays or after basketball practice."

It also can't be forgotten that teammates Cali Catarius and Izzy Levasseur joined DeLong as two-sport state champions for Amesbury this year.

As previously mentioned, DeLong beat out some strong competition to be named our 2021-22 Female Athlete of the Year. Most notably, Pentucket's Lana Mickelson and Emily Rubio, and Newburyport's Hailey LaRosa and Anna Affolter.