The 2024-25 school year was a remarkable season for girls’ sports in the desert. From the debut of flag football in the fall to the first-ever CIF-SS softball title in desert history pulled off by Rancho Mirage in the spring, we saw it all.

In between, there were some unbelievable individual performances from female athletes playing multiple sports or finishing among the best in the state in a single sport.

As The Desert Sun works toward choosing its Girls’ Athlete of the Year, we thought we’d let you choose yours.

Here are seven superlative candidates from the school year that just ended. Read about their accomplishments and then vote for your favorite in the poll at the bottom of this article at desertsun.com.

Whichever athlete has accrued the most votes by noon on Saturday will be the winner. Watch next week for your opportunity to vote for the top boys’ athletes of the school year.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Here are seven legitimate candidates for Girls’ Athlete of the Year listed in alphabetical order. Happy voting!

Leslie Delgado, Coachella Valley

Sports: Volleyball, soccer

What she did: On the volleyball team, Delgado was the unquestioned top player in the Desert Valley League as she led the Arabs to the title and was named the league’s offensive MVP. The senior had a rare 300-300 season with 365 kills and 312 digs, both Arabs’ records. She then moved into soccer season and was almost as dominating. She finished with 17 goals and 17 assists and helped the Arabs advance to the CIF-SS semifinals. The senior forward was named first-team All-CIF for Division 4. She was also named The Desert Sun’s top girls’ soccer player.

Jaeda Diaz, Indio

Sports: Flag football, softball

Why her: Diaz, the Rajahs’ junior, is well-known as a softball stud, but this school year she decided to try an additional sport. With the introduction of flag football, she joined the team. Cut to three months later and she was the defensive MVP of the Desert Empire League on a team that won the first-ever league flag football title. And then softball came around and she did her usual thing. She was named the DVL’s defensive MVP for her steady hand at shortstop, but the offense for the undefeated league champs was there, too. She hit .478 with 46 runs and 53 RBIs including a desert-most 13 home runs.

Saveyra Guerrero, La Quinta

Sports: Cross country, soccer, track

Why her: Guerrero, a senior for the Blackhawks, proved to be an all-around athlete with the stamina of a distance runner and the ball skills that come with being an elite soccer player. In the fall she was the No. 1 cross country runner in the desert, winning all three DEL meets, and earning Desert Sun cross country runner of the year. In the winter, despite missing several games, she did enough to make first-team All-DEL for the Blackhawks. And then in the spring track season she dominated, picking up four first-place finishes at the DEL meet, winning the 800 meter in a league-record time of 2:21.74, as well as the 1,600, 3,200 and as part of the winning 1,600 relay team. She went on to make the Division 1 CIF-SS finals in the 800, besting her DEL time at 2:17.20.

Ava Otteson, Palm Desert

Sport: Swimming

Why her: Otteson, a junior at Palm Desert, was the only desert swimmer to qualify for the CIF State meet where she finished as the seventh-fastest swimmer in the state in the 200-yard freestyle (1:50.51). This came a few weeks after winning two CIF-SS Division 3 titles, one in the 200 freestyle and one as part of the 4-by-50 relay team. She also finished second in the 100 freestyle. At the DEL meet, she won and set league records in the 50-yard freestyle (24.25) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:59.36), the shortest and longest races in the meet.

Jenica Silvas, Twentynine Palms

Sports: Volleyball, basketball, softball

Why her: Silvas is a bit of a throwback as she plays in and stars in the “big three” girls’ sports: Volleyball, basketball and softball. She was a first-team all-DVL basketball player for the Wildcats. A first-team all-DVL volleyball player. And then in softball she was named offensive co-MVP in the DVL after a season in which she hit a ridiculous .667 at the plate with 36 hits in 54 at-bats. Those hits included 21 extra-base hits with seven homers. She finished with 31 RBIs and 37 runs, and has committed to play softball at Cal State Fullerton. Triple first-team all-league is a rare feat.

Malia Strange, Xavier Prep

Sport: Track and field

Why her: To be on this list as a one-sport star, you have to be pretty special at that one sport, and Strange in track and field fits the bill. How about this? She is the fifth-best triple-jumper in the entire state of California. We could stop right there, but she accomplished a lot during the season. She was the only desert track star to qualify for the Masters Meet in two events (long jump and triple jump). At the DEL meet, she won and set league records in the high jump, triple jump, long jump and 100 hurdles.

Alaina Vega, Palm Springs

Sports: Water polo, flag football, softball, swimming

Why her: If you like multiple-sport stars, Vega might be your choice. She played not three, but four varsity sports this year as a junior. Vega is as busy an athlete as the desert has, and she excels at whatever she does. She was a first-team all-league and first-team All-CIF water polo player for an Indians team that made the semifinals. Before that, she was a starting receiver on Palm Springs’ first-ever flag football team. Then in the spring, she played two sports: swimming and softball. In the pool, she had another amazing year, winning the DEL title in the 200-yard freestyle and finishing second in the 500. On the diamond, she was the starting pitcher for the Indians.