HAYFIELD — Hayfield senior Trace Tebay was an ironman on the court and in the classroom this winter and now he’s going continue his drive to excel in basketball and studies as he recently made his verbal commitment to play for Division III Gustavus College next season.

Tebay played every minute in 13 of Hayfield’s 26 games this past season and he also was one of just 31 Class A and Class AA players in the state to be named Academic All-State.

Tebay had been looking at some other schools to play for before Gustavus jumped into the picture.

“Gustavus was kind of a last minute idea. The other schools I looked at, I didn’t like as much and my chances of playing weren’t great. I talked to [Hayfield head coach Chris] Pack and he set me up with a visit to Gustavus and I liked it,” Tebay said. “I’ve got kind of a chip on my shoulder that the other places I thought I would go to didn’t really work out. I want to go out and prove that I can play at the next level.”

Tebay went to a basketball camp in Gustavus when he was in middle school and he’s thrilled to get a chance to play for the Gusties. He’ll likely be asked to play point guard in Gustavus and he proved he could play that position with Hayfield as he averaged 17.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals, while shooting 37 percent on three-pointers and 70 percent on free throws this past season.

“I really wanted to keep playing,” Tebay said. “That’s always been a goal of mine and that was a big factor in my decision to find a place to play.”

While Tebay was staying active with the Vikings this past season, he also was attending college courses at Riverland Community College as he kept his grades up. He’s looking to major in business finance at Gustavus.

“Education has been just as big as sports in my life. My parents have always kind of harped on me about school,” Tebay said. “It does get hard, but I probably make it harder than it needed to be. There were times I chose basketball or working on the farm over studying, but I’m usually pretty good about getting everything done.”

Tebay will likely sign his celebration letter with Gustavus next week at Hayfield High School.