Montville, Eastern Conn. pitcher Michon named CSMA Female Athlete of the Year
Jul. 21—Alexis Michon still regrets that the last game of her career at Montville High School came as a junior in 2019, the second round of the Class M state softball tournament.
The following season, the all-state pitcher's senior year, was canceled due to COVID-19, taking away her final chance to shine as a high school athlete.
"It still haunts me to this day," she said. "That was the last game of my high school career."
She more than made up for that this season at Eastern Connecticut University. Michon was Division III National Pitcher of the Year. She was an All-America selection. She led the Eastern softball team to the Division III World Series. Her 24 wins were the third most in the esteemed history of the program.
On Wednesday, Michon added another honor, as she was named the Hank O'Donnell Female Athlete of the Year by the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance. She will be honored at the Alliance's 80th annual banquet on Oct. 16 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.
"When (sports information director Bob Molta) told me, I was really surprised," Michon said in a telephone interview. "All my other accolades this season, this kind of built on to that. That was really cool.
"That's why I came to Eastern. I wanted to compete and win a national championship. I met my best friends on the team. It's great being able to be on a team where I could be with so many people I've gotten so close to. We have fun with each other."
Michon attended Plymouth State for a year and played softball. She was the Little East Conference Rookie of the Year. She transferred to Eastern after one season to play for coach Diana Pepin.
Michon said there's no way she was as good when she arrived at Eastern as she is now. Michon went 24-1 with a 1.07 earned run average. She struck out 204 batters in 157.2 innings, walked 37 and held opponents to a .154 batting average as Eastern finished 44-7.
In the team's 13 postseason games, Michon pitched in all but one, going 7-0 with a save and a 0.91 ERA with three complete-game shutouts.
"Coach Pep put me through a lot of workouts, a lot of pitching workouts during practices," Michon said. "I'm lifting now; I've learned to absolutely just love it. ... Coach Pep and the rest of my team and the rest of the coaching staff all helped me. I put in the hard work and the hours, but they all stood beside me along the way."
The Connecticut Sports Media Alliance, which previously announced its slate of Gold Key recipients for its annual banquet, including Stonington High girls' tennis coach George Crouse and UConn women's basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey, released its remaining award winners Wednesday.
In addition to Michon, Waterford's Colleen Lineburgh was selected as the winner of the Hal Levy High School Achievement Award for her role as a special education teacher and coach of Unified Sports.
Lineburgh was the Connecticut High School Coaches' Association Coach of the Year for Unified Sports in 2019 and 2021, highlighting a career coaching Unified soccer, volleyball, bowling, cheerleading and basketball.
Other award winners include Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year, Gary Moore Jr. of Hillhouse High School, an All-American in track and field who will compete at Baylor; and Doc McInerney High School Coaches of the Year, Charles Farley of Sheehan girls' track and field and Larry Vieira of Notre Dame-West Haven boys' ice hockey.
Cole Snider, a state champion wrestler at Branford High School who is blind in one eye, will be the recipient of the Bob Casey Courage Award; and Ed Goldstone of Hamden was named the winner of the Bo Kolinsky Special Recognition Award.
The Gold Key Dinner is slated for 2 p.m. Oct. 16. Tickets are $75 and are available by contacting CSMA president Tim Jensen of Patch Media Corp. at (860) 394-5091 or tim.jensen@patch.com. Proceeds support the Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship.
