#SDSportsAwards, boys athlete: Luke Fritsch a true triple threat

Luke Fritsch’s resume is impressive, with various honors sprinkled about – most recently, he won a state title in the triple jump. But with the book on his high school career now closed, it seems he’ll be remembered, above all else, as a gamer.

It didn’t matter the sport — Fritsch made his presence known.

The O’Gorman senior – the South Dakota Sports Awards Sanford Health Boys Athlete of the Year – established himself as one of the state’s premier football players last fall in leading the Knights to the brink of a state championship. A dual-threat quarterback, Fritsch piled up 29 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards of total offense. Fritsch lined up in the defensive backfield and hauled in three interceptions, and even averaged over 40 yards a punt.

On the basketball court, Fritsch was asked to come off the bench and defend, and he did so with gusto. In track and field, Fritsch competed at the highest level in the hurdles and outgunned his season best in the triple jump by two feet to win a state title.

MORE: See other winners of the S.D. Sports Awards

In each arena, his approach has been the same: Go 100 percent.

“What he brings to football and what he brings to basketball is what he brings to track,” said track and field coach Doug Lindner. “He’s an athlete who competes. He has one gear – and it’s on. That’s how he goes, and that’s really neat to watch.”

Fritsch’s season best in the triple jump heading into the state meet was 44 feet, 4.75 inches. That was still a foot short of a mark he had set his sights on for years.

“The O’Gorman record is 45-5, and it has been my goal since I came into the place to break it,” Fritsch said in April. “I won’t be real satisfied until I get it.”

At state, on the biggest stage, Fritsch leapt 46-5 to win by a large margin. The state title came with a school record, just as he hoped.

“He’s the kind of athlete you want in track. He’s a high-profile kid in other sports who comes out and treats it like it’s his main sport,” Lindner said. “He’s a leader in the hall and in all the different activities he’s been in.He leads by example, but he’s also the guy who’s not afraid to say, ‘This is what we need to do, and this is how we do it.’”