DETROIT, Mich. – The Catholic High School League (CHSL) announced on Monday (Oct. 26) the 100 Greatest Male Athletes and 100 Greatest Female Athletes in league history as part of its Centennial Celebration. Father Gabriel Richard/St. Thomas High School are represented by four athletes: Len Lillard ’74, Ellen O’Keefe ’79, Ann (O’Sullivan) Pierson ’82 and Alicia Seegert ’83.
The 200 honorees were recognized on Saturday (Oct. 24) during Prep Bowl LIV at Ford Field. The honorees will also be celebrated at the CHSL Centennial Gala on June 12, 2027, at Huntington Place in Detroit.
Len Lillard | St. Thomas Class of 1974 | Basketball/Track and Field
Lillard is Father Gabriel Richard and St. Thomas’ lone representative on the CHSL 100 Greatest Male Athletes list. A graduate of the Class of 1974, Lillard was a 6-foot,7-inch-tall center for the Irish boys basketball team and won two Lower Peninsula Class D state titles in track and field, claiming the high jump championship in 1973 (6-3) and the shot put title in 1974 (53-8).
During his senior season (1973-74), Lillard led St. Thomas to the Class D state championship. He averaged 23.6 points per game in conference play, including a dominant performance against Whitmore Lake in which he scored 42 points and pulled down 31 rebounds.
In the Class D semifinals, Lillard scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds before posting another dominant stat line of 18 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks in the state championship game. The Irish defeated Harbor Springs, 68-53, to secure the school’s second boys basketball state title.
After St. Thomas, Lillard attended the University of Michigan and was a member of the 1975-76 U-M squad that reached the Final Four, ultimately falling to Indiana in the national championship game.
Ellen O’Keefe | FGR Class of 1979 | Softball
O’Keefe was a member of the Father Gabriel Richard softball program, helping the school secure the 1979 Class D state championship.
In the 1979 state semifinals, O’Keefe shined on the mound and at the plate, pitching a two-hit shutout and connecting on a three-run home run to move FGR past Mason County Eastern, 5-0, and into the state championship game. In the final, she dominated once again, holding Morenci to just four hits and hitting an RBI double en route to a 4-2 victory.
After her time at FGR, O’Keefe played at Northwestern University from 1979-83 and became the winningest pitcher in school history at the time, tallying 41 victories, including 16 shutouts.
Ann (O’Sullivan) Pierson | FGR Class of 1982 | Softball/Basketball
During her four years at Father Gabriel Richard, O’Sullivan was a member of two Class D softball state championship teams, first in 1979 as a freshman alongside O’Keefe and again in 1982 as a senior alongside Seegert.
In her senior season (1982), O’Sullivan helped the Irish post a 30-6 overall record and finished the season with a 16-4 record on the mound. O’Sullivan guided FGR to the state title that season, holding Gaylord St. Mary to just two hits in a 9-2 Class D state championship game victory.
On the basketball court, O’Sullivan helped FGR reach the Class D state championship game during the 1981-82 school year, where the Irish fell to Leland, 50-33. Wearing the green and white, O’Sullivan earned Class D All-State softball honors as a senior and was a two-time Class D All-State basketball selection.
O’Sullivan went on to play basketball and softball at Central Michigan University, where she was a member of two Mid-American Conference softball championship teams in 1983 and 1986 and helped the women’s basketball team secure a conference title during the 1982-83 season.
Alicia Seegert | FGR Class of 1983 | Softball/Basketball
During her time at Father Gabriel Richard High School, Seegert excelled in softball and basketball, helping the Irish secure the 1982 Class D softball state championship alongside O’Sullivan.
On the basketball court, Seegert earned second-team All-State honors in 1982. In softball, Seegert earned first-team All-State honors and was named an All-American in 1983 for her play as a catcher for the Irish.
Following her time at FGR, Seegert starred on the University of Michigan softball team from 1984-87, becoming the first player in program history to earn All-America honors. She earned NFCA All-America recognition in 1986 (first team) and 1987 (second team).
Seegert earned All-Big Ten honors in all four seasons on the diamond (1984-87) and finished her collegiate career holding 10 Michigan softball records, including career marks for batting average, home runs, doubles and RBI. In 1987, she was named U-M Female Athlete of the Year.
In 1992, Seegert was named to the Big Ten All-Decade Team for softball and was later inducted into the University of Michigan’s Hall of Honor in 2006.