March 20, 2025 — Mound Westonka High School is proud to name senior Audrey Kirscht as the 2025 recipient of the Athena Award. Candidates for this “outstanding female athlete” award must demonstrate excellence in individual or group sports. Westonka has been celebrating the top female athlete since 1973.
“Audrey is an outstanding student athlete who works hard in the classroom, in the community and on the turf,” said Activities Director Jeff Peterson. “We are proud and excited to have Audrey represent Westonka Public Schools as the 2025 Athena Award winner.”
Kirscht has been an integral part of the Westonka cross country and track and field teams. She was a key member of the White Hawks cross country team that competed at the state tournament in 2021 and again in 2024, her senior year.
“Looking back on my incredible seasons, I found my most recent success in cross country to be my favorite,” said Kirscht. “As a ninth grader, my cross country team advanced to state, and I was able to see the upperclassmen lead our team. At the time, I hoped that later on I could do that myself."
“Through my team’s commitment this year, it became a reality. Ending my cross country career by leading my team to state was my favorite memory, because being the oldest, I now see how special it is to have the opportunity to be a strong runner that the underclassmen look up to,” she added. “This was a very special moment for me as I fell in love with running at a young age and enjoyed seeing young girls fall in love with it the same way I did.”
With a cumulative GPA of 3.95, Kirscht was named Track and Field Academic All-State in 2023, and Cross Country Academic All-State in 2024. She is also proud of her performance in the Track and Field State Tournament in 2023.
In addition to sports, Kirscht is a member of DECA, the National Honor Society, and Link Crew. She was also a member of Student Senate for two years.
Audrey is the daughter of Kelly Kirscht of Mound. She plans to attend the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management to major in marketing.
Kirscht will represent MWHS at the 53rd Annual Minneapolis Athena Award Luncheon, which will be held May 2 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.
