Photo credit: Charles Edelstein Minnesota Senior Photography
Since eighth grade, senior Anya Anderson has been a valued member of the AHA girls softball and hockey programs. This past month, the senior was awarded the 2025 Athena Award. The Athena Award is given to one prominent female athlete with excellent achievements in both athletics and academics. Anderson exemplified these qualities through her achievements in her career at AHA.
Anderson’s main sport is softball. She’s been on the varsity team since 8th grade and has been captain of the sport since her junior year. During her sophomore year, the team even went to state. As the team’s catcher, Anderson is a crucial part of the team’s success. She has received multiple section and conference awards and was placed on the 2024 All State Second Team.
Her biggest mentor within her sport would be her hitting coach, Wayne Evavold. Evavold has been working with her since she was eight years old, and he’s become a close family friend of the Andersons. He even followed Anya to AHA softball, and the two have been able to continue their successful softball journey at AHA.
Anderson has also been a member of the varsity girls hockey team since her eighth grade year. AHA girls hockey has had a tremendously successful last couple of seasons, placing 4th in the 2024 and 2025 State Championships. According to Anderson, this team is an incredibly close one, and the girls spend a lot of time together, even outside of the sport. Anderson’s contributions to the team, her leadership and character, were recently celebrated with her reception of AHA girls hockey’s Hobey Baker Award.
In the future, Anderson plans to attend Creighton University in their Pharmacy Pre-Professional Scholars Program. She is still deciding whether or not she wants to continue her official softball career at Creighton, but plans to keep sports a part of her life, officially or unofficially.