Southern Alamance alum Greta Hessenthaler earns Elon academic honor

Southern Alamance’s pipeline to Elon University produced another standout Monday night, when Liberty native Greta Hessenthaler was recognized at the Phoenix Awards inside Schar Center for one of the program’s top academic honors. The junior softball player shared the women’s A.L. Hook Scholar-Athlete Award, a distinction Elon has handed out annually since 1975 to junior or senior Phoenix athletes with the highest cumulative grade-point average and at least two years of playing time.

Hessenthaler shared the award with lacrosse player Mia Zebley and soccer players Jordan Green, Jenna Abousaab and Maya Abousaab. Evan Taylor of men’s cross country won the men’s Hook Award, while Jackson Leavitt and Katie Blount took home the Stein H. Basnight Awards as Elon’s top male and female athletes of the year. Elon said it had won six Coastal Athletic Association team championships so far in the 2025-26 campaign, giving the banquet added weight beyond the individual trophies.

For Alamance County, Hessenthaler’s honor reads like the next chapter in a familiar local success story. At Southern Alamance High School, she earned All-Conference, All-Region and All-State recognition in 2021, along with Softball 3A All-Region Co-Player of the Year and Softball 3A All-State Player of the Year-West. At Elon, she has turned that résumé into a steady college career, with roster notes listing her as a 5-foot-1 business major who bats left and throws right. The university also listed her as a 2025 All-CAA First Team selection and a 2024 CAA All-Rookie Team honoree.

Her 2026 season underscored why Elon keeps pointing to her as more than just a classroom standout. Hessenthaler played in all 51 games and started all 51, hit .259, scored 20 runs and finished with 38 hits, seven doubles, one triple and 15 RBI. Elon also named her to its 2026 Preseason All-CAA Team, signaling the respect she has earned inside the conference.

The academic honor also fits the arc of Elon softball itself. The Phoenix won their first-ever CAA Tournament title on May 10, 2025, and the program piled up seven CAA titles in that calendar year. Hessenthaler has been part of that rise while serving as a captain and leadoff hitter, a role that has made her one of the most visible South Alamance-to-Elon success stories in recent memory.