Here are the 2025-26 Athletes of the Season for girls' winter sports

Several female athletes across Section 4 have dominated in their respective sports, creating headlines and outshining their competition this season. The question posed: What characteristics make a standout athlete?

These fan-picked athletes have shown up and shown out in their respective sports this year; some athletes creating new legacies, other athletes stepping up to lead a team, and a handful of newcomers who changed the perception of the "underclassman" label.

Here are this year's "Athlete(s) of the Season" in Section 4 girls' basketball, wrestling, bowling and track:

Click below to see all nominees and their accomplishments.

All Nominees and Descriptions

Girls Wrestling

This season's nominees: Ellisa Bly (Horseheads), Teagan McGuinness (Union-Endicott), Isabella Phelps (Sidney), Delaney Dixon (Windsor)

The fan-picked 2026 "Athlete of the Season" in Section 4 girls' wrestling is Union-Endicott's Teagan McGuinness.

Union-Endicott's Teagan McGuinness won the 185-pound title at the Section 4 girls wrestling championships Feb. 13, 2026 at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. She won the state title at 185 on Feb. 26, 2026 at MVP Arena in Albany.

McGuinness' accomplishments this season: McGuinness captured the girls’ wrestling individual state championship title at 185 and ended her senior season with an unbeaten record of 36-0 to become the first women’s state champion in Union-Endicott history. The senior also captured another individual title at the Section 4 wrestling championships.

Girls Basketball

This season's nominees: Maggie Warpus (Chenango Forks), Harper Eagan (Maine-Endwell), Ava Kariam (Susquehanna Valley), Nayla Miley (Sidney)

The fan-picked 2026 "Athlete of the Season" in Section 4 girls' basketball is Susquehanna Valley's Ava Kariam.

Kariam's accomplishments this season: Kariam scored 15 points against state-ranked Chenango Forks to claim the STAC championship title this season, claiming a spot on BCANY’s all-state first team and the STAC’s Central/East all-conference team as a freshman.

Girls Indoor Track & Field

This season's nominees: Eva DiNunzio-Welch (Binghamton), Cella McLaughlin (Corning), Grace Walley (Walton), Tsadia Bercuvitz (Ithaca)

More:High school sports results for the 2025-26 school year

The fan-picked 2026 "Athlete of the Season" in Section 4 girls' indoor track and field is Binghamton's Eva DiNunzio-Welch.

DiNunzio-Welch's accomplishments this season: DiNunzio-Welch ranked among the top 10 female track athletes in Section 4. The senior took first place in the 800-meter event (2:23.39) at the Puma New York International Showcase, first in the 600-meter event (1:40.07) at the Section 4 Class Championships, and captured the state title in the 1000-meter event with a time of 3:03.64.

Girls Bowling

This season's nominees: Haley Peters (Binghamton), Madison Smith (Elmira), Aubriana Tyler (Windsor), Kylie Downing (Corning)

The fan-picked 2026 "Athlete of the Season" in Section 4 girls' bowling is Windsor's Aubriana Tyler.

Aubriana Tyler of the Windsor girls bowling team.

Tyler's accomplishments this season: Tyler’s 1,236-pin finish captured the lead for Windsor in the Section 4 Division 2 team championships, resulting in the Black Knights’ second-place team score. A first-place finish from Tyler in the high series (596), high games (257), and overall finish (1,586) fortified Windsor’s number one overall score (6688) in Division 2 at the Section 4 state qualifier tournament.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: See the fan-picked Section 4 standout athletes in girls' winter sports