Three Yelm athletes sign to continue sports at collegiate level

Soccer’s Salma Diaz, softball’s Austin Hitchner and Layah Hicks share event together

Posted

Three Yelm High School seniors who excel in two different sports celebrated together on Friday, June 6, inside YHS as they each signed to their respective programs to continue athletics at the college level.

Salma Diaz, Austin Hitchner and Layah Hicks were each surrounded by family, friends, coaches and teachers as they signed to continue their playing days after high school.
The YHS soccer athlete, Diaz, signed with South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, where she’ll continue her women’s soccer career under head coach Benjamin Willis, who was announced as the school’s new head coach on Monday, June 2.

In an Instagram post, SPSCC’s Clippers Women’s Soccer account wrote that they “are thrilled to officially welcome Salma Diaz” to their soccer family. They added, “Salma, a standout from Yelm High School, has shown incredible dedication, grit and talent on and off the field. Her passion for the game and relentless work ethic make her a perfect fit for our program — and we can’t wait to see her impact at the next level.”

Diaz also told the Nisqually Valley News that she’s thrilled to be joining the Clippers and that she’s thankful for the opportunity to continue playing soccer at the collegiate level.




Hitchner, who announced her commitment to William Penn University on Oct. 25, 2024, officially signed to make her commitment reality. WPU is located in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and Hitchner became the second Tornado to sign to the university in recent memory, joining Jeffrey Myers, who signed to the university’s wrestling program in April 2022.

The senior played middle infield and pitched for the Tornados in 2025 and was recently named to the second team All-SPSL South list for her efforts on the mound. She concluded her final campaign in the red and black with 53 innings pitched and a 4.22 earned run average (ERA). She struck out 78 batters and concluded the season with a 5-3 overall record across nine starts and 11 appearances on the mound.

Hicks, a first team All-SPSL catcher for the YHS softball and an All-SPSL volleyball team honorable mention during her senior year, will sign to Ventura College in Ventura, California, to continue her athletics as a two-way athlete.

Hicks finished her final campaign with the YHS softball program by batting .340 and boasting an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .971. She collected 18 total hits, including two home runs and 14 RBIs.At Ventura, she’ll be an active member in the softball and volleyball programs, becoming one of Yelm High School’s first ever multi-sport collegiate athletes.