Athena award winners honored in shortened school year

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High school sports evaporated with the spring thaw due to COVID-19 but recognizing top student athletes didn’t.

Three area seniors received Athena award honors, capping their high school careers in May. Named by the Minneapolis Athena Awards Committee, the annual honor goes to a female senior student athlete at each participating high school. The committee considers athletic achievement, volunteering in the community and other school extracurricular participation in addition to academic success.

Awards went to Emily Mulhern of South, Marie Peterson of Roosevelt and Kate Pryor of Minnehaha Academy.

Emily Mulhern

Emily Mulhern had a duffel bag of supplies handy for teammates in addition to being a strong competitor for the Tigers.

“Each athlete plays a different role on the team, and I was known as the ‘team mother,’” Mulhern said. ”I was the one who had the extra pair of gloves, the bottle of sunscreen and a huge bag of trailmix to share. If someone was having an off day, I could be counted on for moral support.”

Mulhern led Nordic skiers as team captain her junior year and made a splash as rookie of the year for Tigers cross country in the eighth grade. She also helped the ultimate frisbee club team reach nationals.

“For me, the (Athena) award itself acknowledges the important role participation in athletics can play in girls’ lives,” Mulhern said. “I am also very grateful to my coaches and teammates who helped form supportive communities for all of the athletes.”

Outside of athletics, Mulhern volunteered at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital and environmental service projects in Central America. She also performed with Project Opera and played flute in wind ensemble.

Her academic achievements included being the valedictorian, an AP Scholar with Distinction and National Honor Society treasurer. She also earned a certificate of recognition for the Academics, Arts and Athletics Award.

Mulhern will attend St. Olaf College to study psychology and play for the Ollies ultimate frisbee team.

Marie Peterson

Marie Peterson excelled at sports with Roosevelt, but her biggest success came in club wrestling.

She won a state club title in 2017 and took runner-up in 2018. She also competed on a national level.

“To win state was one of the proudest moments of my high school athletics career,” Peterson said. “Competing nationally was definitely eye-opening because I was introduced to so many amazing wrestlers.”

Peterson also succeeded in tennis and track and field for the Teddies as she won Minneapolis City Conference all-conference awards in both sports. She helped the Teddies rugby club team take runner-up in state.

“I have been dreaming about the Athena award for my whole time at Roosevelt, and so it means everything to me as an athlete,” Peterson said.

Her volunteer involvement included serving as president of the Asian Club at Roosevelt, math team captain and as a student ambassador. She also volunteered with the National Honor Society.

Peterson also received the Smith Book award, academic all-state, academic achievement award and made the honor roll. She hopes to major in biology for college and play rugby but hasn’t decided on a major yet.

Kate Pryor

Kate Pryor went from losing a baby tooth in her year of high school softball as a seventh-grader to holding school records in home runs, RBIs and hits.

“I don’t even remember the play I made at third,” Pryor said about the game. “But apparently people were impressed by it and one of my teammates yelled from the dugout, ‘she just lost her last baby tooth today’ and everyone started laughing.”

Her softball prowess will lead her to Boston University next where she will also study health science, but she leaves Minnehaha Academy as being much more than a softball star. She helped the Redhawks girls basketball team win a state title as a junior and won Independent Metro Athletic Conference all-conference honors twice. In volleyball, she also earned all-conference honors and all-section honors once.

“I feel really honored to be selected as the Athena Award winner because there are a lot of really talented female athletes at Minnehaha,” Pryor said.

Outside of sports, she volunteered as a retreat leader for Minnehaha’s middle school. She also served as a camp counselor for Covenant Pines Bible Camp.

Academically, she earned AP Scholar and Academic Letter honors. She also participated in the National Honor Society.

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