The MSHSL Triple-A award is given to those who show excellence in academics, arts, and athletics. Many students apply for this award, but each school may only select one male and one female nominee. One of those nominees is Katie Moynihan.

Katie Moynihan is a senior here at Apple Valley. She has played varsity lacrosse since she was a freshman, made all-state for band all 4 years, and maintains a very strong 4.0 GPA. Now she is an MSHSL Triple-A award nominee.

“I’ve known about [the Triple-A award] since my freshman year because I got into wind ensemble and I remember hearing about it … I’m sure one of them was Mitchell Dawson [that year],” Katie said.

Mitchell Dawson and Hailey Sampson were Apple Valley’s nominees in 2013, Katie’s freshman year. “I was like ‘oh hey – I’m doing speech, I’m in band, I do sports … why can’t I do this?’ So I’ve always kind of kept that in mind,” Katie said.

For Katie, there was another award that made her feel qualified for this Triple-A award: the MSHSL ExCEL award. This award is for juniors that show excellence in the community, education, and leadership, with requirements including fine arts or athletic participation. It sure sounds similar to the Triple-A award.

“Katie’s always strived to be the best at every level,” said Mrs. Moynihan – AVHS math teacher and mother of Katie. “It’s the way she’s made.”

Growing up, this was evident in her asking for private lessons to be better at flute, testing out of 6th grade math because it bored her, and trying out for a club lacrosse team – one outside of school – to further her skills.

“We’ve seen Katie always take the initiative. She sets her sights on something and she goes after it. She’s not afraid to put herself out there or to work hard,” Mrs. Moynihan said.

The road to excellence wasn’t always a smooth one. Last spring in a lacrosse game against Cretin-Derham Hall, Katie tore her ACL.

“I went down to pick up a ground ball and the next thing I know I’m on the ground yelling because [my knee] hurt really bad,” Katie said.

Luckily the injury was late in the season, so she only missed a few games, but tearing an ACL is the easy part; recovering from it is a long and tedious process.

“Two weeks later I had surgery, and I’m at month eight today since surgery. Usually it’s around nine months [of recovery],” Katie said. “It’s a long road … It’s a mental hurdle as much as it’s a physical hurdle.”

Despite the injury, she received various awards and recognitions such as All-Conference, All-State, and Academic All-American. The injury eliminated her chance of participating in a fall or winter sport this year, but she will be back in time for lacrosse in the spring.

There is a selection process that all Triple-A nominees go through in order to be one of the top two in their region. These region-winners are presented during the state basketball tournament in March and then attend a banquet. In the end, there are four winners – one male and one female from Class A and Class AA – and they receive a four-year scholarship of $1,000.

Good luck, Katie, in your path to recovery and a Triple-A scholarship!