Athena Award winners announced from all five high schools
(04/09/2020) Five female student-athletes — one from each of Anoka-Hennepin’s five traditional high schools — have been recognized for their hard work both in the classroom and on the court, field or rink.
And while the 48th annual Minneapolis Area Athena Awards banquet will not be taking place this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s still important to recognize the achievements of young female athletes from public and private high schools across the state.
This year’s Anoka-Hennepin winners:
- Andover High School (AndHS): Jamie Nelson.
- Anoka High School (AHS): Maddie Mashuga.
- Blaine High School (BHS): Madison Schmidt.
- Champlin Park High School (CPHS): Heather Johnson.
- Coon Rapids High School (CRHS): Rachel Deters.
Nelson participated in hockey, tennis and lacrosse at AndHS, where she is a multi-year letterwinner. She was named the team captain of the hockey and tennis teams. Nelson has twice been named all-state in hockey and will continue her hockey career at the Division I level at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Mashuga is a three-sport athlete at AHS, where she’s competed in soccer and golf. But she’s probably best known for being one of the top hockey players in the state. She committed to Minnesota State University, Mankato, to play Division I hockey.
Meanwhile Schmidt is also a multi-sport standout at BHS. This year she served as captain of the volleyball team, and she also has years of experience playing high school basketball and competing in track and field — where she’s won a pair of state high jump championships. Next year Schmidt will be attending the University of Notre Dame on a track and field scholarship.
Johnson is a member of the swimming and track and field teams at CPHS, where she is a seven-time letterwinner. She has qualified for the state swimming championships four times in her career and is the school record-holder in the 50-yard freestyle, the 200 medley relay and 200 and 400 freestyle relay. Johnson will attend the University of Minnesota where she plans to major in chemical engineering.
Deters is a multi-year letterwinner in volleyball, gymnastics and track and field at CRHS. She was nominated as a team captain of the track and field team for the 2020 season and was twice named the team’s top thrower in the shot put. She will attend Hamline University next fall where she plans to continue competing in track and field.