Wissahickon grad O'Donnell is honored

Katie O'Donnell, a graduate of Wissahickon High School, was honored as national sportswoman of the year Tuesday night by the Women's Sports Foundation.

A member of the national field hockey team and a University of Maryland star, O'Donnell was one of five finalists. She beat out a fellow Terrapin, lacrosse player Caitlyn McFadden; USA softball star Jennie Finch; Olympic hockey gold medalist Meghan Agosta; and USA water polo goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong.

"I am still pinching myself to see if this is real," O'Donnell said in a statement. "I was alongside some of the most amazing names in women's sports, and it is just such an honor to be recognized amongst them."

O'Donnell has won numerous athletic awards throughout her high school and collegiate career. At 16, she became the United States' youngest field hockey national team player to compete in an international competition.

The Women's Sports Foundation is a nonprofit national educational organization founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King. Past winners of the sportswoman of the year award have included Olympic beach volleyball gold medalists Misty May and Kerri Walsh, soccer star Mia Hamm, and tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams.

O'Donnell has been a leader on the University of Maryland's field hockey team since 2007 and a leader in the NCAA for number of assists and goals scored. She helped lead the Terrapins to an undefeated season and an Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 2009.