Steve Fritz
Steve Fritz (born November 1, 1967) is an American retired decathlete.
Fritz, who was born in Salina, Kansas, played basketball and competed in track and field for Kansas State University. He was an All-American and Big 12 champion decathlete in 1989 and 1990.[1] Fritz set the Kansas State school record for points in the decathlon.[1] Fritz represented the United States on 10 national teams for decathlon,[1] including a first-place finish at the 1991 Summer Universiade in Sheffield, England, and a fourth-place finish at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fritz was named to the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000 and enshrined to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame on October 4, 2020.[1]
Fritz was an assistant coach for the Kansas State track and field team for 21 years, and is currently the assistant basketball coach at Wamego High School. He is also the track coach at Wamego High School.
Personal life
[edit]His wife, Suzie Fritz, is the former head coach of the Kansas State Wildcats women's volleyball team.
His son, T.J. Fritz, played basketball for Wamego High School, where he averaged 22.4 points per game in 2018 as a senior, which led Kansas Class 4A. Fritz then reclassified from the class of 2019 to the class of 2020 and enrolled at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, KS,[2] considered one of the best basketball high schools in the world,[3] to play for their postgraduate team. After his season at Sunrise, Fritz committed to the University of Nebraska-Kearney on April 15, 2020.[4]
Achievements
[edit]| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Representing the  United States
| ||||
| 1991 | Universiade | Sheffield, England | 1st | Decathlon |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 7th | Decathlon |
| 1994 | Goodwill Games | St. Petersburg, Russia | 2nd | Decathlon |
| 1996 | Olympic Games | Atlanta, United States | 4th | Decathlon |
| 1997 | World Indoor Championships | Paris, France | 6th | Heptathlon |
| World Championships | Athens, Greece | 4th | Decathlon | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d K-State Sports: Four Former Wildcats Named to Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020
- ^ The Manhattan Mercury: Wamego's Fritz reclassifies to 2020, will head to Sunrise Christian Academy
- ^ MaxPreps: 2019-20 Top 25 High School Boys Basketball Rankings
- ^ The Manhattan Mercury: Former Wamego star TJ Fritz signs with Nebraska-Kearney
External links
[edit]
World University Games champions in men's decathlon | |
|---|---|
| |
† 1959 was contested as a pentathlon |
- USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Salina, Kansas
- Track and field athletes from Kansas
- Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball players
- Kansas State Wildcats men's track and field athletes
- Kansas State Wildcats track and field coaches
- American male decathletes
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
- Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Goodwill Games medalists in athletics
- American men's basketball players
- FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States
- Medalists at the 1991 Summer Universiade
- Competitors at the 1994 Goodwill Games
- 20th-century American sportsmen