Hollen Thompson, a senior defender on Park High's girls lacrosse team, practices with her team at Park High School in Cottage Grove, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Thompson was born with one hand but has excelled in the sport regardless. (Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Park High School senior Hollen Thompson gravitated toward the lacrosse field from the first moment she watched her older brother play the sport.

Born without the lower half of her left arm, Thompson never shied away from trying different sports. In sixth grade, she told her parents she wanted to join a youth lacrosse program in Cottage Grove.

“It was always, ‘You can do it, you just might have to do it differently,’ ” said her mother, Kari Thompson. “It was never a crutch for her. It was a gift.”

For more on Hollen Thompson, click here to read this story on startribune.com.