One of the greatest individual multi-sport school years in the history of Vienna High School athletics could certainly be termed the thrill of victory and agony of injury for Eagle senior-to-be Hunter Schwartze.

Schwartze had big success in all four sports he participated in during the 2025-26 school year. That included a top-three all-state performance in one sport and an ill-timed injury which ended his state competition in one sport prematurely and possibly the same in another.

Schwartze has always been a multi-sport standout since beginning middle school in Vienna. However, as a junior in cross country during the fall season, basketball in the winter season and both baseball and track and field in the spring campaign during 2025-26 he had his finest overall performances to date.

And as far as family, there have been decades and decades of standout Schwartzes in Vienna High School athletic lore. Certainly, Hunter has more than added his name to that branch of the family tree.

“I had fun,” Schwartze said of his very busy junior extracurricular contributions. “Every sport had the right chemistry. Because it’s a small school, we all grew up playing together. We all find ways to push each other.”

Cross Country

In cross country Schwartze was team MVP after leading the Eagles to the Show-Me Central Conference (SMCC) and district team championships. And for the third straight season he was a state-qualifier and earned all-state honors for the second consecutive year. In those three years at state he finished 32nd individually as a freshman, 13th as a sophomore and was a top-pack runner this past season, placed third overall.

Joining Schwartze as all-state was Bryce Ewers. And Schwartze, along with two other teammates, was cross country Academic All-State.

“I didn’t really think about running cross country,” Schwartze said. “But as a freshman my cousin (Gavin Schwartze) talked me into coming out. I had no idea what I was getting into! In cross country, it gets pretty hot sometimes and it really takes a lot of dedication to be good. But as a freshman, as a team we won the district championship, was fourth at state and individually I was seventh at district and 32nd at state. That got me excited.”

Schwartze has had success in cross country. Now in the sport he hopes to join his cousin - Aubrey Schwartze - as a state champion. Aubrey captured the Class 1 girls’ shot put state title for the Lady Eagles this past spring.

The two runners who finished ahead of H. Schwartze in last year’s Class 1 State Meet are back, as well as the nine finishers behind him. But Schwartze feels he’s right in the mix for an individual state title, as well as a Vienna team state crown.

“We bring back a lot - we’re losing two seniors,” he said. “But we have some good freshmen this year. I’m one of the top seniors back (from state). The top two kids (ahead of him last year) are back, but one is moving up a class, so it could be between me, the other kid and others coming up. There are a lot of (individual state runners) coming back, so it will be a fast-paced field this year.”

Basketball

After being a part-time starter for the Eagle boys’ basketball squad as a sophomore, Schwartze was elevated to a full-time starting guard position this past season and was a key contributor. He earned SMCC All-Conference honors, averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.8 steals.

Basketball is Schwartze’s longest-tenured sport. “I probably say basketball,” he said of his favorite sport. “I’ve played basketball since I was about seven years old.”

“It went pretty well,” he said of his first season as a starting point guard. “We had a difficult schedule. We finished third in the Bourbon Tournament; played a lot of bigger schools. It was a good season. We played a lot of tough competition.

“I think I bring a lot of energy to the court. I try to keep the players’ heads in the right place. If I get the ball I can push it up the court; make the opponents change their style. I like to drive to the basket and if open, kick it out to a teammate; make the defense collapse on me.”

With SMCC MVP Teagan James and Schwartze back leading the charge, it appears the improvement and won-loss mark will continue to soar for the Eagles this coming season.

“Several of them have stepped up in the summer more than I thought,” said Schwartze, who is limited in summer off-season activities while continuing to heal from an ankle injury he suffered in the semifinals of the Eagles’ district baseball tourney. “We’ve got a big number of freshmen coming in.”

Baseball

First-year Vienna head coach Tim Simmons knew he had a fast, quick, athletic Schwartze coming into the 2025-26 fall and spring baseball seasons. So he used him everywhere in key positions.

Schwartze was a left-handed starting shortstop for the Eagles - quite rare in baseball. When he wasn’t at shortstop, Schwartze was on the pitching mound. And he was the ignitor of the Eagles offensive attack as the leadoff hitter. He finished with a .322 batting average with 12 RBI, 20 runs scored, 16 walks and led the squad in stolen bases. He also pitched in 10 games, both as a closer and starter. He was part of the SMCC All-Conference Team.

Vienna was one of the top Class 1 teams in the area, being ranked in the state’s Top-10 at one point. However, Schwartze’s ankle injury may have cost Vienna another impressive postseason run. It came sliding into second base in the first inning of the District 8 Tournament semifinal game against Calvary Lutheran, playing on a rain-soaked turf field at Versailles. The game had been moved to Versailles to get it in with the turf field, which the Eagles hadn’t had much experience with.

With Schwartze out with a badly sprained ankle, Vienna’s offense was limited to just one run. However, Eagle pitching, led by Reid Nichols, shut out Lutheran and moved Vienna to the championship game against top-seed and defending Class 1 state champion St. Elizabeth.

Without Schwartze in the lineup, Vienna did not score, wasting a strong pitching performance. The two teams were scoreless going into the bottom of the seventh inning, when St. Elizabeth got a walk-off run to win 1-0, ending the Vienna season. St. Elizabeth got back to the Class 1 State Tourney title game, where it lost to Northland Christian.

“When I slid, I caught my foot,” he said of the injury. “It was my first baseball injury. It was very tough to sit there and watch the rest (of the tournament). Very painful not playing.”

Despite being an unusual left-handed shortstop, Schwartze hopes to return to the position next season.

“It was my first year at shortstop,” he said. “Being an infielder, you’re in on all the action. I feel fine there now; it feels normal. And pitching, I really like it. Me and Evan (Simmons) will be the main starters.

“We can be pretty good (as a team). We lost a lot (of seniors), so we have to fill in a lot. My brother (Weston) will help. He’s probably the best (freshman) coming up.”

Track

Schwartze capped his school year with a standout track season that could have been even better except for that ankle injury.

He helped the Eagles win a second straight SMCC boys’ team championship.

Individually, Schwartze qualified for state in all four of his sectional events - the 800-meter and 3,200-meter runs and as part of the 4x100-meter and 4x800-meter relay squads.

But due to the ankle, he was not able to compete in any of the events at the Class 1 Track and Field State Championships.

“I’m very proud of making it to state in all four (events),” said Schwartze, who has competed in track since the seventh-grade. “All of our relays were really good.”

Perhaps even more rare than a left-handed shortstop in baseball, is having a runner in track good enough to get to the state meet in both a sprint relay (4x1) and a distance relay (4x8).

And his two open state-qualifying events (3,200, 800) are among track’s most difficult.

“It was the first time I ran the two-mile,” Schwartze said. “I started running it the meet before district and thought it went pretty good. I’ve been running the 800 since seventh-grade. It’s a very hard event. But I really like the 4x8 relay. We’re bringing back two (on the relay) and some of the freshmen coming up will fill the other two spots well.”

Schwartze plans to compete in all four sports in the upcoming school year and is hoping to stay healthy and continue to improve.

“I’m pretty excited about next year,” he said. “When you realize it’s your last year, it hits you. I’m excited to see what I can do as a senior.”

Soon he will begin considering possible options in collegiate athletics as well. And like high school, it may not be limited to a single sport.

“I hope to run cross country and track in college,” he said. “I still plan on waiting to the end of the school year to see what I do. To see if I can get some scholarship offers.”