MANSFIELD — The Katie Ritz resume is an imposing body of work, on and off the basketball court.
Sunday’s season finale, at the third annual Shelby Rotary Girls All-Star Classic (at 6 p.m. at Shelby High School), will be Ritz’s final moment on a competitive floor. Mansfield Christian coach J.R. Wilson said Ritz is the first Flame to make an all-star team in years.
“There are young players coming through that will want to be the next Katie Ritz,” Wilson said. “I’m just so proud of her. Our program is going to miss her but her legacy will continue. She will be the example our coaching staff will use as we encourage these young ladies in our program to work hard in the off season.
“We know if they put the work in, that one day they just may make the All Star team and be a huge asset to our program, too.”
On the Floor
The Mansfield Christian senior averaged 18.5 points, third best in the area. A four-year letterwinner, Ritz posted 7.8 rebounds per game and led the Flames to a 13-10 mark and a third-place showing at the Ohio Christian Schools Athletic Association state tournament.
“This has been our best year as a program in many years,” Wilson said.
Ritz’s goals for her senior season were to improve on a 14-point scoring average and help her team take the next step. Check and check.
“It was a great season,” she said. “We wanted to really focus on our conference and we did really well.”
Wilson said her performance against Loudonville, 30 points and 14 rebounds, including a 14-of-15 effort from the line, to keep the Flames close to the powerful Redbirds.
“Her biggest strength is being able to coach other players. She would be a coach on the floor,” Wilson said. “She would see things happening in a game and suggest we try something different or stay with the defense or offense.
“Sometimes as a coach you don’t see everything until you watch game film. It was just nice having a player on the same page.”
The 5-foot-8 Ritz mostly worked in the post after starting midway through her freshman season, through her junior campaign. This year she swung to the outside at times, and was a jack-of-all-trades for the Flames.
“Katie was team captain,” Wilson said. “We had an injury to a key player with 5five games to go and Katie stepped up and put the team on her shoulders. She encouraged her teammates, and she showed good leadership coming down the stretch.”
Off the Floor
Despite her sterling season, Ritz will put competitive basketball behind her after Sunday night.
She has quite a foundation to build from. Ritz is president of National Honor Society and the Bar-H 4-H Club, as well as a pianist for the Mansfield Christian School Praise and Worship team “Image.”
She’s a member of the Autumn Rose IEA equestrian team with a 4.0 GPA, she has received an academic scholarship to the University of Kentucky where she will major in Animal Science. She hopes to go into research involving equine nutrition or equine reproduction.
“I’ve been to the Kentucky Derby a couple of times, I like it down there,” Ritz said. “I’m just thankful God has given me a lot of opportunities.”
Studying horses in the epicenter of horseracing is strictly for thoroughbreds, a description that neatly fits Ritz.
“Katie has a bright future. Anyone that knows her can see that,” Wilson said. “I see an individual that knows what she wants and is one of the hardest working young ladies that I have ever coached. She will succeed and then some.”
