Across all sports, the 2024-25 school year saw a bumper crop of Clipper athletes, and they continue to reap accolades, even as another year rapidly approaches.
Senior Allison Cink (golf), senior Ava Hahn (volleyball) and eighth grader Charlotte Meyer (cross country) were among a trio of prep athletes from around the area representing 22 sports who were nominated to receive a Greater Mankato Area Athletic Award.
Meyer ended up winning the award. She and other winners were recognized Tuesday, July 29 in an awards banquet in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Cink was a leader on the Le Sueur-Henderson/Cleveland/Sibley East golf team, which she joined as an eighth grader. In her first trip to the state 2A tournament this spring, she took 40th place. She also won the SCC Conference tournament and was named the conference MVP. This fall, she will be a member of the Marian University (Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) “Sabre” golf team.
In her varsity career, which started in 2021, Hahn totaled 1299 kills, 1083 digs, 211 service aces 53 set assists and 58.5 ace blocks. She was selected to the All-Conference First Team her sophomore, junior and senior years. She was on the All-Conference Second Team as a freshman. She was a member of the All-State team this year and led her team to the section championship. She also plans to continue her career at the collegiate level.
Meyer, a member of the Mankato Loyola/Cleveland cross country team, took second place at the state Class A meet last fall. She won the section meet.
About 200 people attended the banquet, which was hosted by Free Press publisher Steve Jameson. A magazine detailing both the winners and the finalists in the various categories was inserted in the following day’s Free Press and is also available on line.
These, the First Annual Greater Mankato Area Athletic Awards, or GMAs, were determined by Mankato Free Press sports staff, who consulted with area schools and coaches. They were presented by physicians and other staff from the Orthopaedic & Fracture Clinic, which was a primary sponsor of the event. The architecture and engineering firm ISG was also a sponsor.
It is the first time that the Mankato Free Press honored area athletes for their talent in the following high school sports: football, volleyball, boys and girls cross country, girls swimming & diving, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls hockey, wrestling, gymnastics, boys swimming & diving, boys and girls track & field, baseball, softball, boys and girls golf.
They honored the top three in all sports and awarded a winner in every sport as well as a coach of the year (Joe Madsen boys basketball coach at Mankato East), a team of the year (Mankato co-ed adaptive floor hockey) and a boys and girls prep athlete of the year.
