Mound Westonka High School is proud to name senior Abby Hollenstein as the 2023 recipient of the Athena Award. Candidates for this “outstanding female athlete” award must demonstrate excellence in individual or group sports. Hollenstein is a three-sport White Hawks athlete, participating in soccer, basketball, and track and field. Mound Westonka has been celebrating the top female athlete since 1973.

"Abby is a tremendous student athlete and a great representative of MWHS as our 2022-2023 Athena Award winner,” said Activities Director Jeff Peterson. “Abby works very hard and is a great teammate. Congrats, Abby!”

Other finalists for the 2023 MWHS Athena Award were seniors Laura Sunnarborg, Ellen Pruitt, Alicia Hatlestad, Sydney Leonard and Gretta Pioske.

Despite a devastating knee injury in 2020 which left her side-lined, Hollenstein was determined to come back stronger and better than before. “I maintained a consistent schedule of physical therapy workouts and stayed involved with my teammates by becoming a manager for both soccer and basketball,” she said. Her hard work paid off and she earned her varsity positions back.

A two-year captain of the track team, Hollenstein was part of the 4x200 meter relay team which earned All-Conference in 2021 and 2022 and advanced to the state tournament last year. “This was a huge accomplishment due to the fact that a girls relay team had not advanced to state since 2008,” Hollenstein said.

Basketball is Hollenstein’s favorite sport. She averaged 8.4 points and 10 rebounds per game her senior year, when she also served as captain. She is proud to be considered a great teammate and captain by her teammates and coaches. Coach Ronald Howard said, “You are one of the best teammates I’ve ever coached, and you continue to lead us the rest of the way.”

Hollenstein earned her way to a starting position on the soccer team her senior year, after working her way up from the c-squad and JV teams and missing her sophomore season due to her knee injury. “I am proud to have been a part of the varsity soccer team that finished the season with the best record in 15 years,” she said.

In addition to sports, Hollenstein is a member of the National Honor Society, DECA, Link Crew and the MWHS Rotary Interact Club. She has earned multiple Academic Excellence Awards, was recognized as a Distinguished Student and was named an AP Scholar. Hollenstein believes it is important to give back to the community through volunteering. She has organized donation drives and volunteered onsite at Western Communities Action Network (WeCAN).

Abby is the daughter of Mike and Cindy Hollenstein of Mound. She plans to attend either the University of Wisconsin-Madison or Indiana University-Bloomington to major in finance and minor in marketing or data science.

Hollenstein will represent MWHS at the 51st Annual Minneapolis Athena Award Luncheon, which will be held May 5 at the Earle Brown Heritage Center. She will be one of more than 50 outstanding senior women honored from public and private high schools in the greater Minneapolis area. To learn more about the event, visit the Minneapolis Athena Award website.