St. Philip's Alex Kersten is the 2022 Battle Creek Enquirer Female Athlete of the Year

In some years, the Enquirer Athlete of the Year is someone who excels in a single sport.

More often, however, it is an athlete who has been a standout in two or three sports.

St. Philip's Alexandra Kersten was either a state champ, a state qualifier or an All-City honoree in five different sports.

Which makes Kersten our choice as the 2022 Battle Creek Enquirer Female Athlete of the Year. She is joined in the honor by Enquirer Male Athlete of the Year Julion McCray of Harper Creek.

BEAVERS' BEST: Harper Creek's Julion McCray is 2022 Battle Creek Enquirer Male Athlete of the Year

"It takes a special athlete to do five sports and excel in five sports," said St. Philip Athletic Director Vicky Groat. "She not only excelled in all of those sports, but also in academics. She is a student-athlete in every sense of that meaning. And not just a great athlete, but a great kid and a wonderful young lady."

Kersten just finished her spring season playing for the St. Philip/Calhoun Christian co-op soccer team while also competing on the Tigers girls track squad. In the winter she was a member of the St. Philip girls basketball team.

And in the fall she competed in cross country and volleyball.

"I always played all those sports growing up, so once I got to high school I couldn't choose which ones I wanted to play and which ones I didn't, so I just played them all," Kersten said. "I didn't want to let my teammates down and I wanted to help my school, because we are such a small school, so it helps to play as many sports as you can."

Her fall also consisted of helping St. Philip win its second straight state title in volleyball as the Tigers were a top five team all season and ended with a straight-sets win over Indian River Inland Lakes in the Division 4 finals at Kellogg Arena.

"To be a two-time state champion is pretty awesome," said Groat, also the St. Philip volleyball coach. "As a state champion she is a big part of our volleyball tradition."

Kersten almost wasn't part of a state championship team, for a couple of reasons. She wasn't in the volleyball program as a sophomore and joined for her junior and senior seasons. And once there, her junior year was interrupted by COVID concerns as there was a threat that the MHSAA might cancel the end of the volleyball season.

"Winning it my junior year wasn't something we thought we would ever do, but the further and further we got, it became a reality," Kersten said. "Then, as a senior, we had a target on our backs from the previous year. In 2020, a lot of people didn't think we deserved the title because so many teams got out due to COVID, so coming back to win it again, we showed everyone we deserved it."

Kersten says her favorite sport was basketball as she was a three-time All-City selection for the Tigers as well as a three-time all-league choice. The forward averaged nearly a double-double as a senior with 10.8 points per game and 9.3 rebounds and finished her career with over 500 rebounds. Along the way, the student with a 4.1 grade point average, was also Academic All-State twice in basketball.

In soccer, Kersten was an honorable mention choice on the All-Enquirer Girls Soccer Team.

But most of her individual accomplishments came in running, shining in both cross country in the fall and track in the spring.

Kersten was a four-time state qualifier in cross country, as she helped the 2018 St. Philip team win a regional championship. And she was a three-time state qualifier in track, only missing out her sophomore year due to the season being called off by the MHSAA due to COVID.

"I loved all the sports, but basketball was always my favorite. I have been doing that since I was 4," Kersten said. "In middle school, I would practice with the boys to try and get better and it was my goal to make varsity as soon as I could once I got to high school. Another big goal was to go to the state finals in track and cross country every year and that almost happened except for the one COVID season."

Overall, Kersten earned 18 varsity letters at St. Philip as she will continue her education at the University of San Francisco, where she is going for academics, but hopes to be a walk-on on the soccer team.

"I will definitely miss my St. Phil family," Kersten said. "But I am looking forward to getting out and see a bigger world outside of Battle Creek and starting the next chapter."

Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter @billbroderick.

Enquirer Athletes of the Year

2021 - Lakeview's Brazyll Watkins/Pennfield's Ryne Petersen

2020 - Harper Creek's Alysa Wager/St. Philip's Conor Gausselin

2019 - Lakeview's Karlie Kucharczyk/BCC's Josh Mann

2018 - Harper Creek's Megan Kusler/BCC's Antonio Postell

2017 - Lakeview's Maggie Farrell/BCC's Juan Warren

2016 - Harper Creek’s Charlie Andrews/BCC’s Brandon Randle

2015 - Harper Creek’s Charlie Andrews/Lakeview’s Jake Herbers

2014 - St. Philip's Sierra Hubbard-Neil/Lakeview's Donnie Ernsberger

2013 - Harper Creek's Bri Burritt/Harper Creek's Josh Bass

2012 - Lakeview's Lydia Drikakis/Lakeview's Dan Emery

2011 – Pennfield's Emma Fishnick/Lakeview's Clay Youngquist

2010 - St. Philip's Lena Oliver/Lakeview's Clay Youngquist

2009 - St. Philip's Liz Sherzer/BCC's Larry Caper

2008 - Lakeview's Megan Sliva/Lakeview's Jake Labrecque

2007 - St. Philip's Allyson Doyle/Harper Creek's Nate Smith

2006 - St. Philip's Allyson Doyle/Lakeview's Devan Kline

2005 - St. Philip's Jessica Greene/BCC's Liam Knapp

2004 - Lakeview's Bre Ballard/Lakeview's Carl Mulder

2003 - St. Philip's Allyson Riley/St. Philip's Mike Leifeld

2002 - Pennfield's Amanda Fowler/Pennfield's Aaron Nasers

2001 - Lakeview's Audrey Graham/BCC's Ben Reed

2000 - Lakeview's Julie Dawes/BCC's Dan White

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: St. Philip's Alex Kersten is 2022 Enquirer Female Athlete of the Year