ETSU's Schwarz leaving mark on tradition-rich distance program

Last weekend, Schwarz made a little bit of history at the Southern Conference indoor track and field championships, becoming the first runner to win the women’s mile three consecutive years.

“It’s always a goal to win, but I just wanted to have the strongest performance that I could,” Schwarz said. “It’s been a different experience every year, but I was happy that I felt comfortable during the race.

“It’s special to me that I did make a little bit of history.”

Schwarz hails from Oak Ridge, one of the perennial state powerhouses in outdoor track and field, especially distance. Her credentials coming out of high school were solid, but ETSU coach George Watts — now in his 11th year in Johnson City — could see that she still had a lot of potential.

“Genevieve has really progressed nicely throughout her career,” Watts said. “She was a decent runner out of high school, but she was very talented. I never expected her to get where she’s gotten to. The talent really bloomed last year in the spring. She’s running so much more relaxed and more confident now than she has been before.

“(Catherine) Layne gets a lot of the credit, too, for coaching her a couple of years. I just try to not mess it up and get her to the line healthy.”

The “three-peat” for Schwarz has come in much the same way every year — waiting until the final moments to unleash her deadly finishing kick. Her finishing time last weekend was a strong 4:46.22 as she beat out Furman’s Kayla Armitage and Samford’s McKenzie Hogue over the dying stages of the race.

“I never know exactly what to expect, but it’s turned out each time that I’m waiting on my opportunity to kick,” Schwarz said. “That’s how I like to race and that’s something I love about the mile. I felt my strongest this year, for sure.”

The 2022 outdoor season was a breakout one for Schwarz, running 4:18.42 in the 1,500 meters after the SoCon championships to make the NCAA East Prelims field. That’s around the equivalent of a 4:38 mile. She also busted a 2:07.87 at Western Carolina last year, beating her previous best college outdoor time by almost three seconds.

“She’s been very fortunate to be healthy for most of her career,” Watt said. “A lot of distance running is consistent with mileage and staying healthy. She really knows her body and knows when she needs to go easy.

“The 800 was really more of a surprise because it was at a smaller meet and it just kind of happened. Both her big races last year came when conditions were right for fast times.”

Schwarz’s goals for the upcoming outdoor season are lofty, including chasing Heidi Dahl’s 1,500 school record — which has stood since 2009 (4:14.00) — and trying to make the NCAA prelims again.

“Breaking a school record is still on my mind and I’m only about four seconds away from it in the 1,500,” Schwarz said. “Qualifying for regionals is another big one, too.”