Michigan-bound hoopster helped team win back-to-back titles
Olivia Olson’s earliest sports memories came from playing rec-league soccer with her brother when they were four years old, playing on the same co-ed team every weekend at the local soccer fields.
Fast forward more than a dozen years later and Olson not only put together one of the all-time great prep basketball careers in Minnesota but has a bright future ahead with the University of Michigan starting in the fall.
Benilde-St. Margaret’s all-time great basketball player set the program scoring record (over 2,500 career points) and rebounds record (over 1,000 rebounds) earlier this season while leading the Red Knights to back-to-back state titles in March and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Minnesota.
Add the 2024 Athena Award to Olson’s resume (three state titles) which is presented to one senior at each school in the greater Minneapolis area.
A standout on the basketball court, Olson was a five-year star for the Red Knights, serving as captain and earning Most Valuable Player honors each of those five seasons. A four-time All-Metro West Conference selection (2021-24) and All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2020. She was voted the Metro West Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year in 2024.
She was named to the Star Tribune’s All-Metro First Team four times, earning All-State First Team selections three times (2022-24) and All-Tournament honors in 2023-24.
She represented the United States as part of the gold medal-winning Under-16 team at the FIBA America Games in 2021.
Olson was also a state-champion soccer player for BSM as a solid goalkeeper helping guide the team to the 2023 state title. She earned four varsity letters and owns the career saves and save percentage records. Olson earned All-Conference, All-State and All-Tournament honors in 2023.
Part of the criteria for the Athena Award is to recognize academic and school/community support. A member of the highest honor roll with a 3.8 grade point average, Olson is a member of the National Language Honor Society and is bilingual (Spanish).
Olson not only volunteers at the PRISM food shelf but is a member of BSM’s Red Knight Volunteer Corps and served as an intern with the admissions department.
The owner and operator of her own business, Liv’s Lawns organized a shoe drive for area kids in the community through Legacy Hoops in November 2023.
She plans to major in sports management in Ann Arbor, Michigan while also playing basketball.
Athena Award
Olson will be joined by the other Athena Award recipients during a Friday, May 3, luncheon at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center. The reception begins 11 a.m. with the Athena Award winners entering the ballroom at 11:15 a.m. and lunch is served 11:30 a.m. The program starts at noon and will conclude at 2 p.m. The featured speaker for the luncheon is former Minnesota Gophers coach Laura Halldorson who won three national championships. Info: minneapolisathena.com
Follow Jason Olson on Twitter @Jason0lson or @SunSportsJason.
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