ABOVE: Jackson Madsen and Elsa Thompson were chosen by GHEC as this year’s Triple A award selections for Art, Academic, and Athletic proficiency.

GRANADA – Aspiring coach Jackson Madsen and degree-holder Elsa Thompson are Granada-Huntley-East Chain’s (GHEC) 2025 Triple A winners.

Madsen said he was never really an artistic person. While he started choir and theater for the credits, he said he soon found it was a great experience.

“Turns out, I enjoy it,” Madsen said. “I’ve gained so much knowledge I had no clue about.”

PSEO courses have been a major academic focus for Madsen. He said he’s enjoyed history since he started high school, and has now branched out into other areas like economics, physics, public speaking, and algebra.

“I’ve learned that if you want to achieve [something like] a good grade and you work towards it, you can do it,” Madsen said.

On top of all that, Madsen has recently started juggling the responsibilities of four sports. He’s played football and basketball since elementary, started running track in high school, then decided to pick up golf his junior year.

“I wanted to learn how to golf,” Madsen said. “It’s a skill that I’ll be able to use my whole life. I wanted to take a chance while I still can, to learn how to play.”

Outside of school, Madsen works on his family farm. He said it involves a lot of mowing, fieldwork, tilling, and anything else his dad needs.

Moving forward, Madsen is looking to play football in college and stay close to home. He is looking to go into education as a history teacher and be a coach.

Winning the Triple A award is something he said means he worked hard, put his mind to it, and achieved. Madsen said he looks to continue to do that and enjoy the rest of his time at GHEC.

“I’d like to create more memories, things that I can remember, good times at school,” he said. “Might not see my friends much more, if at all, after high school. I hope to keep making memories with them.”

For Thompson, she has chosen to express art through music. She plays the alto saxophone and participated in solo ensemble contests where she won two solo superior awards and a woodwind trio superior. Her artistic side is inspired by her aunt.

“I would go to her house because she lived in East Chain,” Thompson said “She was musical. She was a great singer and taught me how to play all these different instruments. That brought me to music. What I’ve taken away from it is you can learn many different things and there’s endless opportunities with music.”

Academically, Thompson completed enough PSEO courses to obtain an associate’s degree last month. She said she found it funny that she has a college diploma before her high school diploma.

“My favorite class I’ve taken was this last semester,” Thompson said. “I took a microbiology class, and they sent us a lab kit in the mail. I got to grow the bacteria in my room. They sent us a microscope to use. I like the hands-on learning stuff, and that’s why I like science.”

She strives to be a teacher as well as a learner. Athletically, she has competed in club dance for Borchardt Dance Company and also teaches dance. She also plays soccer for Fairmont, where she started as a defensive center back this year. Thompson also coaches youth soccer through the Fairmont Soccer Association.

“I’ve always really liked youth and helping them,” she said. “I enjoy working with the younger kids and teaching them not only how to play soccer, and do dance, but also life skills like patience and teamwork. It’s good for me as well, because it also teaches me life lessons.”

Outside of the three A’s, Thompson participates in Girl Scouts, FFA, and National Honor Society. She also won a free trip to Washington D.C. where she met with Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.

“I got to talk with them about stuff that impacts our rural America life down here,” Thompson said.

With all of her experiences in clubs and Washington D.C., Thompson said they have made her a more responsible and mature person.

“Helps me grow up,” she said. “Because I’m gonna go into college next year, it helps me to figure out what life is like outside of high school. In high school, we get in our little bubble. We feel like high school is the end all be all. There’s so much more to the real world. It’s good I got to be a part of those organizations to help get me a jump into adulthood.”

After high school, Thompson is attending Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska to pursue a degree in Biology with a Pre-Med focus. She said having her associate’s degree and PSEO credits transfer will help her get a jump-start, as will a scrubs camp she went to last summer.

“I went and got to do a bunch of different things within the medical field,” Thompson said. “That’s when I solidified this is something I want to do, being able to do all those hands-on activities. We got to draw blood from a fake arm and see their entire nursing lab.”

To have all she’s worked hard for recognized with a Triple A award has made Thompson proud of herself.

“It’s good to look back on all the things that I’ve done to win this award,” she said. “It means a lot to me because I’ve been involved in a lot of stuff within our community and athletics, arts, and academics. I’ve worked hard, so I’m really happy to see that my work has finally paid off.”