Element's nigh-unstoppable superstar
May 28, 2023 by Theresa Diffendal in News with 0 comments
Washington’s Abby Hecko was named the winner of the 2023 Callahan Award at the halftime break of the second men’s semifinal this afternoon in Cincinnati. She is the second player from the Element program to win the award, following Shannon O’Malley in 2010.
There was incredible excitement about Hecko when she entered college as she already had elite club experience with Seattle Mixtape, was part of the 2018 U20 women’s team that won gold, and was the youngest player selected to the 2019 USA U24 Team. She more than lived up to the billing, earning Rookie of the Year First Runner-Up in 2020. She spearheaded Washington to a finals appearance in the 2021 winter College Championships, Element’s first finals appearance since they won it all in 2012. She was named 2021 Player of the Year, and, of course, was selected as a First Team All-American.
On top of a tremendous 2023 college season where she powered Washington to a quarters berth, Hecko excelled with the Western Ultimate League’s Seattle Tempest and will compete with the U24 women’s team in the UK later this year.
Hecko’s 10 years of ultimate experience and incredible talent has led to an outrageous number of highlight reel plays, perhaps most famously a posterizing sky of the 2022 Callahan winner Dawn Culton. But she is much more than big plays. She’s dominant with or without the disc, outwitting even the toughest matchups, and is one of the most defining presences in any college game.
