ABOVE: Fairmont's number 44 fullback Hank Artz sets up in the gap ready to block incoming defenders.

FAIRMONT – Five-time varsity letter recipient and multi-sport athlete Fairmont’s Hank Artz has officially committed to Bemidji State to further his football career.

“I’m excited. I feel like I left a mark in Fairmont football,” said Artz. “Now I’m just excited for the future.”

Coming off of his senior season as a two-way player for the Fairmont Cardinals which featured a Section 3AAA championship appearance, fullback Artz is excited for the opportunity to continue to grow as a player under the tutelage of the Bemidji coaching staff.

“It started slow [recruitment] in the summer and then I finally got to camp,” said Artz. “I got offered by Bemidji. I’d already been on a visit there and I already knew I loved the place and it matched. It came down to me, I thought I was going to get the offer at camp, I just needed to have a good camp and I did. I kind of knew it was the only D2 school I wanted to go to and then yeah, I just kind of told them I was ready to commit.”

It was not a short journey for Artz on the path to selection. As interest grew, the invites to camps began coming in and the decision making process began. After multiple offers, Artz decided to take his talent to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) to play for the Beavers.

“It’s kind of crowded at first,” said Artz. “You’re getting lots of Junior Day invites

and stuff like that to like, I don’t know, NSIC schools or NAIA, D3, a couple of D1s I went on early. So I didn’t really know what level of football I’d be playing because I had top D1 schools early on. And then after that, I had just D2 and then I had some D3 schools offered and then it was kind of all over the place.

“I just narrowed it down to D2 … NSIC is one of the best D2s conferences overall, so I just kind of wanted to play in it and kind of narrowed down my schools to my camps to get to those schools and I got to Bemidji, got to Duluth, got to Sioux Falls, USF, and Augustana and then yeah, those were kind of just the top schools I was looking at later on in the recruiting process and then … I ended up getting Bemidji.”

Though his position is not completely solidified, Artz is happy to play on either side of the ball for his new team.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going in as a fullback, but who knows,” said Artz “They say people change positions all the time, just kind of see what they fit in best. I love playing defense, so if they told me I need to try and have an opportunity to play some defense, I’d pursue that and try to play maybe. I don’t know, but I’m excited to be a fullback if that’s where they want me.”

Even with all of the excitement, Artz is still facing the challenges of the high school-to-college transition as all seniors do.

“I’m nervous about being away from home,” said Artz. “I mean, it is five hours or so, so it’d be a little bit different, kind of not being able to come home on the weekends, but I think there are some guys that I’ve met already that I played against in high school that are going to Bemidji and, yeah, we can find some fun things to do and kind of make it a new home.”

The support of his family, friends, and teammates has been a strong source of encouragement for Artz as they share in the excitement of the next chapter of his life.

“So recruiting is a long process and a lot of stress,” said Artz. “You don’t know where you’re going and then you get coaches talking to you from different schools and then kind of just relieved and kind of just felt very blessed to have the coaches and my family and my teammates. They all support me in different ways. I’ve got people I lift with the past four years that have been with me like everyday lifting. Like, obviously I can’t do that stuff by myself.

You need people to support you.”

Artz’s high school athletic career may not be over just yet. He is undecided if he will be participating in track and field this season as he works on rehabilitating a shoulder injury.