A variety of athletes with local ties are making their presence felt for their current teams.

VOLLEYBALL

University of Minnesota Duluth middle blocker Alyssa Nelson, a graduate of Hayfield, had a breakout season in 2009 that netted her All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference acclaim and a spot on the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Central Region team.

Nelson can now add one more award to her résumé, as she was named a first team All-American by the AVCA on Monday.

Nelson’s 396 kills led the Bulldogs and topped her previous career high of 47. She also smashed her career-high in total blocks (18) as she finished the season with 137. Her .377 hitting average led all UMD attackers and ranked third in the NSIC.

HOCKEY

Austin grad Tim Kirby has one goal and six assists in 14 games for the Air Force Academy men’s hockey team. Kirby is a sophomore at, AFA which is off to a 6-5-3 overall start.

Two Austin grads, Kirsten Faber and Taylor Jenkins, are having a solid start to their seasons for the University of Eau-Claire women’s hockey team.

Faber, a 2007 grad, has five goals and two assists in nine games and Jenkins, a 2008 grad, has three assists in nine games for the Blugolds (4-4-1 overall).

BASKETBALL

Leslie Wilson, a 2008 Hayfield grad, is making her mark on the Wartburg women’s basketball team. Wilson leads Wartburg (1-4 overall) in steals (3 per game), while averaging 3.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.

Anna Hebrink, a 2006 Austin grad and 2008 Riverland grad, has started the first seven games of the season at Bemidji State. Hebrink is averaging 7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game for the Beavers (4-3 overall).

FOOTBALL

A high school football player with Austin ties recently received the Dick Butkus Award for linebacking.

Jordan Hicks, a senior at Lakato West High School in West Chester, Ohio is the nephew of Troy Justice of Mason, Ohio, who is the son in law of David Defor of Austin, received the award after a surprise in person visit from Butkus himself.

According to the Butkus Foundation, Hicks, a 6’2″, 220 lb. senior at Lakota West High School, is considered one of the top football players in Ohio at any position and is weighing offers from numerous elite Division I collegiate programs. He finished his senior season with 95 tackles in 10 games, which included 65 solo tackles and 13 for a loss of yards. Hicks led the Lakota West defense that allowed just 8 points a game during its 9-2 season. He also is a four-time basketball letter winner.