By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Southern Alamance alum Greta Hessenthaler received one of the major awards during Elon University’s athletics banquet last month.
Hessenthaler, a junior softball player, was a recipient of the A.L. Hook Scholar-Athlete Award. The Hook Award has been presented annually since 1975 in honor of A.L. Hook to the Phoenix male and female junior or senior athletes who possess the highest cumulative grade-point average with a minimum of two years of playing time at Elon.
For the past school year, the male recipient was Evan Taylor of men’s cross country along with a five-way split of the women’s honor going to Hessenthaler, lacrosse’s Mia Zebley, and soccer’s Jordan Green, Jenna Abousaab, and Maya Abousaab.
The Basnight Award, presented annually to Elon’s top male and female athletes of the year, was awarded to goalkeeper Jackson Leavitt of men’s soccer and distance runner Katie Blount of women’s cross country and track and field.
Ashley Lafontaine of women’s golf and Oskar Antihemo of men’s tennis received the Robert C. Browne Leadership & Sportsmanship Award.
Jana Lynn Patterson, associate vice president for student life, dean of student health & well-being and assistant professor, received the athletics department’s Unsung Hero Award. She retired this spring.
For the softball team, major awards went to catcher Mary Moss Wirt, who played in high school for Orange, as Most Valuable Player and to Hessenthaler, an infielder, as the best defensive player.
