By Paul Suellentrop

Tanya Friesen won Class 4A titles in the triple jump and long jump twice and played basketball well enough to earn post-season honors at Buhler High School.

Wichita State director of track and field Steve Rainbolt believed that combination of athletic abilities made Friesen a natural for his favorite event.

"Bolt was pretty convinced that I should do the heptathlon," she said. "And I was not. I'll never forget my recruiting lunch with him. He was telling me everything that was in the multi. I didn't even know about it. It wasn't anything I had heard of or thought about."

That lunch at Jason's Deli started the process of turning a jumper, reluctant to run the 800 meters and with no throwing experience, into an All-American with scars on her knees from hurdles.

"She was a tall, lanky athlete with a beautiful running stride," Rainbolt said. "I thought 'Well, this girl is a college basketball prospect.' That is an indicator of athleticism."

Friesen, a member of the 2026 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame class, proved Rainbolt correct in his evaluation. She competed for the Shockers from 2010-13 and earned first team All-American honors in the heptathlon in 2013 and second team in the pentathlon. She won three Missouri Valley Conference titles in the multi-events, helping the Shockers to three indoor and two outdoor titles.

Her score of 5,899 points in 2013 remains first on WSU's list, ahead of six Shockers who earned first or second team All-American honors. She ranks fourth in the pentathlon (4,043 points) behind All-Americans Destiny Masters, Breanne Borman and Nikki Larch-Miller.

Heptathlete Whitney Sorrell hosted Friesen, who was leaning toward basketball and track at Hutchinson Community College, on the recruiting visit. Sorrell, a state champion from Concordia, competed against Friesen in high school jumps. That intentional pairing by Rainbolt led to a lifelong friendship.

"She was one of my rivals at the time, who is now one of my closest friends," Friesen said.

Friesen conquered her fears in the 800, learned the hurdles and turned into a strong thrower. Her jump skills gave her a strong base of points and she improved her speed.

"She didn't have a weak event," Rainbolt said. "Turns out she had a throwing arm. Her hurdles times got very good."

Friesen said it took most of her freshman year to feel comfortable in the multi-events. Rainbolt handed her a shot put on her first day of practice and she tackled the seven heptathlon events (100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin, 800 meters) for the next four years.

"It was not an easy transition - ask my mom," she said. "I remember many phone calls. I was very, very frustrated. I not a very big person. I wasn't very strong at the time."

The 800's test of speed and endurance looming at the end of the second day is a challenge for many athletes. A strong 800 helped Friesen win her first MVC heptathlon title as a junior, after finishing third as a freshman and second as a sophomore. She knew she needed a good time in the 800 to hold off Northern Iowa's Paige Knodle. Friesen clocked a time of 2:19.70 to finish second in the event and with 5,472 points, 80 ahead of Knodle.

"My best 800's came from me having to run from behind," Friesen said. "I think I ran scared a lot, which is unfortunate and something that I look back on and I kind of regret. When I had a motivation or a target, something to chase, I always felt like the 800 came a little bit easier."

Friesen aimed at a big target starting with her first practice on the Cessna Stadium track by taking on the multi-events. Four years later, her mastery of those seven events made her one of the best in her field at Wichita State.

Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame weekend 

 A dinner is set for 6:00 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Aetna Multipurpose Center at Charles Koch Arena, while the induction ceremony is scheduled for halftime of Wichita State's Feb. 14 (6 p.m.) men's basketball game against Tulsa.
 
Cost for the dinner is $50 per person, and paid reservations can be made online at goshockers.com or by calling the Shocker Ticket Office at 316/978-FANS or in person at the WSU Ticket Office located on the south side of Charles Koch Arena.
 
The addition of this year's class brings the total of former coaches and student-athletes in the Hall of Fame to 168, while there are 14 at-large selections.