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Upper Iowa University and Augustana student-athletes bestowed 2019 NSIC Britton & Kelly Awards

Rochester, Minnesota, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, natives honored

Burnsville, MINN. (04/29/2019) — The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) announced Augustana University's Kirby Hora as the 2019 Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award winner and Upper Iowa University's Anna Winter as the 2019 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. The Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence, in its 35th year, recognizes the NSIC's top male student-athlete and the Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award, in its 34th year, is presented to the NSIC's top female student-athlete.

The Britton Award was created in 1985 in honor of Dr. William Britton, a longtime faculty representative at Bemidji State University who served on the Athletic Board of Control of the Northern Intercollegiate Conference for 25 years. Britton retired from BSU in 1982 and passed away this past March.

The Kelly Award is named in honor of Willis R. Kelly, an associate professor of physical education at the University of Minnesota-Morris. A member of the NSIC Hall of Fame, Kelly also coordinated the Minnesota-Morris Physical Education Department from 1970-87. She became the first director of women's intercollegiate athletics at Minnesota-Morris in 1976 and was later promoted to athletics director for the whole department. Kelly passed away in 1988.

The member institutions of the NSIC nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the Britton and Kelly Awards. The nominees must meet the following criteria: a grade point average of 3.5 or better (on a 4.0 scale); evidence of academic excellence beyond the minimum grade point average (scholarship prizes and other academic recognition), evidence of participation in the life of the institution, and evidence of participation in at least two-thirds of the varsity events of the individual's primary sport. The award is voted on by the NSIC Faculty Athletic Representatives.

The 32 student-athletes nominated for the NSIC's two most prestigious awards will also be honored as NSIC Male and Female Honor StudentAthletes of the Year at their respective institutions. Hora and Winter will be recognized Tuesday, July 9 at the 2019 NSIC Hall of Fame Banquet at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Lakeville, Minnesota and will each receive a $3,000 post-graduate scholarship.

2019 Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence Anna Winter - Upper Iowa University - Volleyball

Anna Winter, a native of Rochester, Minnesota, is a mathematics, chemistry and biology triple major at Upper Iowa University. The Rochester Mayo High School graduate holds a 4.00 grade point average while excelling in volleyball for the Peacocks. Winter is the first Upper Iowa student-athlete to earn the Kelly Award.

Winter has been on the Athletics Director's Honor Roll every semester and is an NSIC All-Academic Team member. She has received multiple scholarships including the G.C. Baker Scholarship the Excellence in Mathematics Scholarship, the Excellence in Mathematics Scholarship and the Goebel Scholarship. The Baker, Goebel, and Excellence in Mathematics Scholarships are given to one recipient per year and are chosen by the science and mathematics faculty, who select the top student academically for each award.

Winter is an active participant on campus and in the community. She is a member of ENACTUS (campus student entrepreneurial group), a mentor for freshmen student-athletes through the Athlete Peer Educator Program, and a Tutor in mathematics, biology, and chemistry. On the court, Winter is a two-time All-NSIC performer, earning first team honors this past season. In 2018 she had 404 kills for a 3.88 kill per set average while hitting .257 with only 89 errors. In her three year career, she has 880 kills in 84 matches to go with 323 digs and 107 blocks.

Winter was also accepted into the 2019 NASA Summer Training Program, a highly competitive program which accepts about 20 students nationally each year.

2019 Dr. William Britton Scholar-Athlete Award for Academic Excellence Kirby Hora - Augustana University - Football

Kirby Hora, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota is a senior majoring in biology at Augustana University. The Roosevelt High School graduate holds a 4.00 GPA while excelling in football for the Vikings. Hora is the third student-athlete from Augustana University to earn the Britton Award joining Cody Lensing (2012) and Matt Braithwaite (2011). Hora is an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship recipient, First-Team Google Cloud Academic All-District and a three-time NSIC All-Academic team recipient. He has earned multiple scholarships, including the Dr. Jeffrey Behrens Sports Medicine Scholarship, the Mike Freidel Football Scholarship, the Y.T. Johnson Pre-Medicine Scholarship, the Sam Milanovich Scholarship, the Froiland First Year Biology Scholarship, the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship and the Augustana University Academic Scholarship. He has also presented research at the Experimental Biology research conference in San Diego, California and at the South Dakota Symposium. Hora graduated in fall of 2018 and plans to attend medical school this fall.

On campus, Hora was a member of the Tri-Beat Biology National Honor Society and on the Dean's List member each of the past four years. He was the Student Athlete Advisory Committee President, was a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Pre-Medicine Club, Biology Club, Tri-Beta Biology Club and Be The Match Club.

On the field, the middle linebacker recently finished one of the best careers in Viking history. Hora ended his career with 410 career tackles, ranking second all-time in Augustana program history. A four-time All-NSIC selection, Hora's career total of five forced fumbles sits tied for first in Augustana history. In 2015, Hora helped lead the Vikings to a share of the NSIC South division title. Hora excelled outside the classroom and off the field as he volunteered with Ghosts of Christmas, Food Delivery, Habitat for Humanity, Necessities for Neighbors Distributor and Kids Against Hunger. He worked with the South Dakota Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network Research Fellowship, has been a Nursing Assistant in Sanford Health's radiology department and a Patient Care Technician in Sanford Health's operating rooms.

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