Picture courtesy of Tanner Colvin

When Paityn Fritz stepped on the court at Kansas Wesleyan’s Mabee Arena last Saturday for the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game, it was a fitting hometown celebration of her remarkable Salina South athletic career.

But along with it came the realization that her days as a multisport high school standout had come to an end.

“Yeah, I’ll go from four sports to one sport, so it’s going to be different,” Fritz said after scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds in her Blue team’s 75-70 victory. “But I’m glad that I get to play softball and get to do that year-round.”

Paityn Fritz

“It’s all softball now. I’m going to focus on softball and hopefully have a good career coming out this fall.”

Fritz, who has signed to play Division I softball next year at Nevada-Las Vegas, certainly leaves a legacy at South, including Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division I all-conference honors in three sports — volleyball, basketball and softball — plus Class 5A second-team all-state recognition in basketball.

And this spring, for good measure, she added track and field to the mix, claiming a 5A state championship in discus and runner-up finish in the shot put.

“It was definitely a lot of fun,” the 6-foot-3 Fritz said of her high school career. “I was pretty sad (realizing) I won’t play those sports again, but I’m happy to start the new chapter.”

Given her athletic her talent, Fritz hoped to one day earning a college scholarship. She just wasn’t sure which sport she would choose.

“I was hoping for Division I, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to be basketball or softball,” Fritz said. “I was in between basketball and softball, and then I decided that softball was going to be easiest on my body, and it was the most fun that I have had.”

Fritz, who mostly played outfield for the Cougars, is listed as a prospective pitcher and infielder by UNLV. But it was her performance at the plate that struck fear into the hearts of South opponents.

“My hitting is probably one of my best features,” said Fritz, who batted .407 with a school record 12 home runs and 34 runs batted in for the Cougars while drawing 25 walks, 14 intentional. “(But) I’m pretty much a utility player. I’ll play wherever they ask me to play.”

Fritz also received early recruiting interest in basketball until she made it clear that softball was her path forward. She led the Cougars in both scoring with 16.4 points per game and rebounding with an 8.4 average.

In volleyball, she was a force at the net, averaging 4.2 kills per set with a .243 hitting percentage.

Ironically, she saved her high school best for last in a sport that she added a few months ago almost as an afterthought. And then her first career championship did not even come in her best event.

Despite practicing “not very often,” she broke the school record with a throw of 139 feet, 8 inches in the discus, plus was runner-up with a mark of 40-0.5 in the shot put.

“It was fun,” Fritz said of her flirtation with track, the sport she had given up in favor of softball after middle school. “I definitely was not expecting to win at all, let alone winning discus.”

“I thought if anything, I’d win the shot, so it was a surprise to me.”

Even though she practiced with the team roughly three times and competed in just four meets, track provided a welcome diversion from the pressures of softball.

“It was for fun,” Fritz said. “I didn’t have much expectation, just going to have a good time.”

As for softball, Fritz is now ready to make it her number one priority. The fact that she gets to pursue it in Las Vegas is simply a bonus.

“There were multiple schools that I was looking at, but I decided that UNLV was the best,” she said. “It felt like home, and I’m excited to go.”

“I’m excited to move to Vegas, because there’s always something to do. I never have to worry about being board. I’m excited to see how I work with my teammates for the next four years.”

And what about leaving high school behind.

“I think it was definitely a rollercoaster. There were a lot of ups and downs,” Fritz said with a smile. “But I came out of it ready to go to college and move on to my next adventure.”