By Ray Hamill — As always, there are no shortage of worthy candidates for our end-of-year high school awards.
And that includes our Little 4 Girls Athlete of the Year.
We will announce the award winners in all six categories next week, including our Little 4 Boys and Girls Athletes o the Year, our Big 5 Boys and Girls Athletes of the Year, our Team of the Year and our Coach of the Year.
This week, we will be announcing our finalists in all six categories.
Our L4 girls finalists include seven student-athletes, each of whom made their presence felt on multiple sports fronts.
Four conference schools are represented in our list of finalists, including the Ferndale Wildcats, who have three senior student-athletes among the finalists.
Click here for a look at our Little 4 Boys Athlete of the Year finalists.
Here then, in alphabetical order, is our list of finalists for the award.
2026 Humboldt Sports Little 4 Girls Athlete of the Year Finalists
Wau’Kel Blake
Hoopa, Junior
Blake enjoyed a big year in multiple sports for the Warriors, most notably on the basketball courts where she led the way on a very young team and provided some much-needed leadership.
She got the year off to an impressive start and earned All-League honors in volleyball, before switching to basketball and averaging 18.8 points a game on her way to earning a second All-League award.
Alyssa Boham
St. Bernard’s, Senior
A busy Boham starred in three different sports in her senior year, earning All-League honors in soccer in the fall and following that with an all-league honorable mention on a very good SB basketball team.
But it was in track and field where she made the biggest impact with three top-three finishes at the league championships, and she will compete in track for Oregon Tech next year.
Mackenzie Coleman
South Fork, Junior
Coleman’s impact with the Cubs was felt in multiple ways, most notably on the softball fields, where she helped lead the school to a second straight conference title and earned a second straight MVP award in the process.
And that’s not all for the impressive Coleman, who also was named All-League on the volleyball courts in the fall.
Michaela Ellsmore
Ferndale, Senior
One of three Wildcats on our list of finalists, Ellsmore starred for the Cats in a pair of sports and enjoyed plenty of success during her time as a Wildcat.
She earned All-League honors on the Cats’ NCS winning soccer team in the fall and received an all-league honorable mention on the school’s basketball team, although in truth she played at an All-League level in that sport as well.
She was also included on the HDN All-Sportsmanship Team.
Madison Gossi
Ferndale, Senior
Gossi was arguably as impressive as any other L4 athlete across the board and is one of just two finalists to have earned All-League honors in all three sports she competed in.
After playing an important role on the Wildcats’ NCS championship soccer team, Gossi helped lead the school to another Section championship game in basketball, before closing out an outstanding high school career with a big spring on the softball fields.
Makinsey Lemley
St. Bernard’s, Senior
One of two Crusaders on our list of finalists, Lemley was a two-time All-League selection in her final year of high school sports.
She starred for St. Bernard’s in volleyball and softball, helping to lead her team to an undefeated league title in the former, while providing some key team leadership from behind the plate on a young SB softball team.
Tinnley Pidgeon
Ferndale, Senior
The 2025 Little 4 Athlete of the Year picked up this year just where she left off as a junior and starred in three different sports for the Cats.
Pidgeon earned MVP Goalie honors on the Ferndale girls’ NCS championship team in soccer and followed that with impressive All-League seasons in both basketball and softball.
