Spokane Youth Sports Awards honors standout athletes from across the metro, region
The annual Spokane Youth Sports Awards took place Tuesday evening as elite high school teams and individual athletes from around the city and region packed into the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox.
The awards ceremony dates back more than a decade and gives student-athletes, who work tirelessly throughout their respective athletic careers, an opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their accomplishments.
The 12th edition of the awards began with a red carpet entrance for all the finalists from each category, earning the ceremony the nickname the “Spokane ESPYs,” named after ESPN’s national annual award show . Some of the nominated teams strolled down the red carpet to flaunt their hard-earned championship rings, while others let their flashy attire do all the talking.
The awards are broken into two categories: “Region” awards were presented to schools from Classes 1A, 2B and 1B; “Metro” awards went to Classes 4A, 3A and 2A, encompassing the Greater Spokane League.
Colfax boys’ basketball swept the boys Region awards, as the Bulldogs won team of the year. The late Reece Jenkin was honored as coach of the year, and his son, Adrik, won boys athlete of the year. Reece Jenkin, who coached the Colfax boys team for 18 years, died on Feb. 27 after a battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Adrik Jenkin led the Bulldogs to a perfect 27-0 season and State 2B championship. He had several remarkable performances throughout his second state championship season, including a 46-point performance against Northwest Christian in January and a 33-point showing in the state title game.
A key reason why Colfax was able to dominate throughout the season, according to Jenkin, was their difficult schedule.
“Last year, they knew we were going to bring back a lot of good talent, and they knew that we weren’t going to have the competition we needed in our league,” Jenkin said. “Being able to step out and play against those bigger schools was really good for us and got us prepared for later in the year.”
Addison Jay capped off one of the most decorated softball careers the GSL has ever seen with Mt. Spokane’s first-ever fastpitch state title, as well as a third consecutive slowpitch state title, as the team mercy-ruled their opponent 20 times in 21 games. Jay finished her storied career, which featured seven no-hitters and a perfect game, with a program record of 61 wins and 731 strikeouts.
When asked what made this first-ever Mt. Spokane championship team special, Jay said, “we’re resilient and we don’t quit. It’s really exciting to leave a legacy at Mt. Spokane softball. This program is something I wish everyone could experience. The athletes, the coaches, the team, it’s just so incredible.”
In 2025, Kaitlyn Waters helped the Northwest Christian girls basketball team, which entered the state tournament as the No. 8 seed, win the school’s first state title in the sport. Waters described experiencing the magical postseason run as “not real; it was just crazy.”
As a senior, Waters earned her second Northeast 2B-North League MVP award as well as State 2B player of the year honors. Waters was awarded Region Girls Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.
“I always want to push myself to be the best and compete at the highest level I can,” Waters said. “It’s just a huge accomplishment, and I’m really proud. It means a lot to me that all my hard work paid off.”
Lauren Matthew won state titles in the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes in her senior season, finishing her career with school records in the 100, 200 and 400. She also starred on the Eagles’ girls soccer team – which outscored opponents 150-0 this season and took home Metro girls team of the year.
“We had been working so hard to win the state title that it was really satisfying to finally get there because we were like knocking on the door for four years, and it finally happened.”
Spokane Youth Sports Awards finalists (winners in italics)
Region coach of the year: Reece Jenkin (Colfax boys basketball), Mallory McDonald (Freeman boys and girls cross country), Dave Whitehead (Northwest Christian volleyball)
Metro coach of the year: Carl Adams (Mt. Spokane softball), CC Collins (West Valley girls soccer), Austin Stuchell (Mead boys cross country)
Region girls team of the year: Freeman soccer, Garfield-Palouse volleyball, Northwest Christian volleyball
Region boys team of the year: Almira/Coulee-Hartline football, Colfax basketball, Freeman cross country
Metro girls team of the year: Mt. Spokane slowpitch softball, Mt. Spokane volleyball, West Valley soccer
Metro boys team of the year: Mead cross country, Gonzaga Prep basketball, University wrestling
Region girls athlete of the year: Rylee Russell (Freeman soccer, basketball, track, softball), Regan Thomas (St. George’s cross country, track and field), Kaitlyn Waters (Northwest Christian volleyball, basketball, softball)
Region boys athlete of the year: Brock Benson (Colville football, basketball), Max Grindy (Almira/Coulee-Hartline football, basketball, baseball), Adrik Jenkin (Colfax basketball)
Metro girls athlete of the year: Aylah Cornwall (Gonzaga Prep basketball, track and field), Addison Jay (Mt. Spokane slowpitch softball, fastpitch softball), Lauren Matthew (West Valley soccer, track and field), Kyla Roberts (University cross country, gymnastics, track and field)
Metro boys athlete of the year: Brendan Hughes (Mt. Spokane football, wrestling), Simon Rosselli (Mead track and field), Nathan Zettle (West Valley football, basketball)
Specialized athlete of the year: Juliette Nau (Lewis and Clark wheelchair track and field, basketball), Jack Coy (Lewis and Clark wheelchair basketball, track and field), Brycen Phillips (Mt. Spokane ambulatory track and field)
Dan Fitzgerald Against All Odds Award: Owen Pitts (Medical Lake basketball, track and field), Jenkin Family (basketball)
A replay of the broadcast will be available on SWX on June 27 and 28 after Hoopfest coverage concludes at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Northwest Christian volleyball players show off their state rings during the Spokane Youth Sports Awards on Tuesday at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spokane.