Spokane Youth Sports Awards honors standout athletes from across the metro, region
Jun. 10—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-ath
Jun. 10—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."
