University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Wethington Named Hockey Humanitarian Nominee
1/14/2025 2:20:00 PM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS - University of Minnesota fifth-year forward Audrey Wethington is one of 14 nominees for the 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced Tuesday. The Foundation presents the award annually to college hockey's finest citizen - a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism.
Finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in February. The 2025 recipient will be honored in a ceremony on Friday, April 11 during the NCAA Men's Frozen Four weekend in St. Louis, MO.
Wethington, a fifth-year senior for the Gophers, has appeared in 155 games, tied for eighth-most in the nation among active players. The Edina, Minn. native has recorded 61 career points (17g-44a). Throughout her extensive collegiate career, Wethington has registered only 11 career penalties, which ranks second-fewest among skaters who've played in 150 or more career games.
Wethington was a top-three finalist for the 2023-24 WCHA Outstanding-Student Athlete honor, a three-time selection for WCHA Scholar-Athlete and the WCHA All-Academic Team, a 2024 PNC Achiever Award Recipient, a 2023 Elite-90 Award runner-up, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, and a three-time 2021-22 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.Â
She completed her undergraduate studies in Dec. 2023 with a 4.0 GPA and a Bachelor of Science in Biology. As a graduate student, Wethington is pursuing a Master's Degree in Biological Sciences, and will be attending medical school next fall, embarking on a journey that promises a bright and impactful future.
Wethington is deeply passionate about medicine and has fully immersed herself in the field. Since May 2022, she has worked as an assistant volunteer researcher in the Visible Heart® Laboratories at the University of Minnesota. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate studies, she has dedicated over 1,000 hours collaborating with cardiologists, engineers, graduate students, and researchers.
Wethington's dedication to learning and serving others extends beyond the classroom and the ice. Over the past two years, she has volunteered more than 200 hours at Masonic Children's Hospital, where, as a weekly volunteer, she plays a key role in supporting young patients and their families as they navigate difficult times. As an ambassador and volunteer for Maroon & Gold Impacting the Community (M.A.G.I.C.), Wethington has dedicated over 160 hours collaborating with organizations such as Minnesota Special Olympics, the Create A Memory Foundation, Rink Roots, and Big Ten Reading Week. She also volunteers bi-monthly at Loaves & Fishes, preparing, packaging, and serving free and healthy meals to members of the Phillips neighborhood, one of Minneapolis' most underserved communities.
Additionally, Wethington has further extended her outreach through the Twin Cities Prison Ministry, where she writes birthday cards for incarcerated individuals, offering them a sense of connection and support, and with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), an organization dedicated to stem cell and bone marrow donations. She brought her passion for the program to campus, spearheading "Ski-U-Mah Against Cancer Week" and organizing several Gopher Athletics Valentine's Day donor registration events in partnership with NMDP. Through these initiatives, Audrey helped register over 3,000 individuals as potential stem cell and/or bone marrow donors.
In July 2024, Wethington was one of two Gopher student-athletes selected to represent the University of Minnesota in the Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery. This event brought 125 student-athletes from all 18 Big Ten schools to Alabama, where they participated in an immersive educational experience focused on black history and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.
2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award Nominees
David Breazeale Sr. D University of Maine Grandville, Mich.
Keri Clougherty Sr. D Boston College Lynn, Mass.
Kendra Fortin Sr. D Bemidji State University Thunder Bay, Ont.
Alex Gagne Sr. D Univ. of New Hampshire Bedford, N.H.
Hank Kempf * Sr. D Cornell University Wilmette, Ill.
Josh Luedtke Sr. D St. Cloud State Univ. Minnetonka, Minn.
Cameron Mannion Sr. D Stonehill College Dorchester, Mass.
Raice Szott * Gr. D Merrimack College Daysland, Alta.
Sarah Thompson * Gr. F St. Lawrence University Ottawa, Ont.
Jacob Truscott Sr. D University of Michigan Fort Gratiot, Mich.
Clara Van Wieren Gr. F Minnesota Duluth Okemos, Mich.
Makenna Webster Sr. F The Ohio State Univ. St. Louis, Mo.
Audrey Wethington Gr. F University of Minnesota Edina, Minn.
Luke Wheeler Sr. F Bowdoin College Golden, Colo.
* 2024 HHA Finalist