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KASSON — Delaney Awe liked the looks of the academics at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D.
They are rigorous, which is vital for a high school senior who wants to eventually be a physician’s assistant.
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Awe doesn’t only have a reputation as a stellar and serious student (4.0 grade-point average), she can also kick a soccer ball with the best of them and beat pretty much anybody occupying a soccer field in a race.
It was demonstrating those twin skills that the Kasson-Mantorville senior was named All-State in soccer the past two years. A year ago she got there after scoring 28 goals and dishing out four assists. This past season, after missing a few games with an injury, her numbers were slightly down but still enough to land her All-State recognition — 14 goals, 13 assists.
Awe’s lethal soccer reputation and overall athleticism (also a starter in basketball, a top runner on K-M’s state-qualifying 4×100 track and field relay team the last two years, and a former state qualifier in the high jump) was more than enough to draw the interest of the Augustana soccer program and its head coach Brandon Barkus.
In June, Awe received and accepted a soccer scholarship from the Vikings.
She has spent the last six months dreaming about that future experience. For Awe, everything is in place — the athletic opportunity, the academics and the proximity to home. Sioux Falls is just a 3 1/2 hour drive from her Mantorville residence.
“The college game looks different,” said Awe, who watched Augustana play a handful of games this past fall. “It’s way faster. It’s better to watch because the players are better and more active with the ball. Just better play overall. I am really excited to have a great set of teammates to pass the ball around with. I’m looking forward to playing at the college level.”
After a six-week break thanks to a stress reaction in her back, Awe is finally feeling well enough to compete again. She rejoined her basketball team just a few days ago and hopes to be playing in games this week, as well as start working on her soccer game again.
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Soccer is No. 1 for Awe and always has been.
“Other than it being my best sport, I’ve always had my best friends on the soccer teams I’ve played on,” Awe said. “I’ve enjoyed the environment we get to play in. There is just positivity all around.”
Awe takes few soccer breaks. She stays active in the sport nearly year round and has been a K-M starter since her freshman year. This coming summer, she’ll make it three consecutive summers of playing for Rochester United, an amateur team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
That has gone a long way in showing Awe where she is with her abilities, as she plays alongside and against a bunch of mostly college-aged players.
With her combination of foot skills and speed, the 5-foot-7 Awe has matched up well and will head into her Division II college career with confidence.
She’s come a long way since the eighth grade, when she was already playing on the Kasson-Mantorville varsity but getting pushed around. After making steady trips to the weight room, now she’s able to do the pushing.
And she’s sure not done building. Her goal the next eight months is to get even stronger and faster, all while refining her soccer skills.
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Once that Augustana fall season begins, she believes she’ll be ready.
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