Charlie Obaugh RV & Outdoor Center Student Athlete of the Week: Aurora Schwaner

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) - Aurora Schwaner is a future division one athlete who has set multiple school records at Staunton High School.

“You have to want it to make it happen. So I’m in the weight room almost every day in the morning before school, trying your best at practice, giving it 100 percent, that’s the key,” said Schwaner, a senior at Staunton High School.

Aurora Schwaner is a star in outdoor and indoor track. She has been named all-state six times, won Region C Outdoor Athlete of the Year in 2021, and holds school records in the 300m, 500m, 4 by 2, and 4 by 4.

“Whether it’s before school, during school, after school, her mind is on those athletic ventures, anything that she does, all of her jumping’s. She does almost every single event which is mind-blowing but she works so hard individually for each one which is so important, you don’t see that in a lot of athletes,” said Hannah Martin, a track coach for running events at Staunton High School.

Schwaner’s coaches say her work ethic and commitment to everything she does is extremely impressive.

“There is no harder worker than Aurora Schwaner from anyone at the school. She puts everything she has into everything whether it’s athletics, or academics, in the spring she’ll be a dual sport athlete and she’ll be at soccer practice the entire time and track practice the entire time,” said Marc Rosson, Track Head Coach at Staunton High School.

Schwaner has also been named all-district and all-region in soccer which she competes in at the same time she is also running outdoor track.

“It’s really hard but I think the good thing about track is that it translates really well to any other sport. You can always use more speed, more agility, everything you gain in track can be put to use in other sports,” she said.

Whether it’s during a meet or behind the scenes at practice Schwaner’s coaches say she is a team player and a great leader who impacts all of those around her.

“She’s the captain of the team, she leads by a great example on the field. She starts practice off, she stretches the team, she does all their sprint drills, I could show up 15 minutes late and I know that everything will be getting done properly because she’s out there leading the team correctly,” said Rosson.

Hannah Martin said that while Schwaner loves to have fun and goof around she always makes sure that she and her teammates are focused.

“She’s a wonderful leader, when we have students that are lacking off or aren’t really paying attention she always ropes them back in and lets them know this is a team sport, even though we’re running individually we’re doing this all together,” said Martin.

Schwaner said that she has made some of her best friends on the track and credits them and the team’s closeness for helping her succeed.

“You can see it a lot in team sports where the closer the team is off the field the better you’re going to do on the field and it’s the same with track even though it is like a very individual sport if you have the right people around you to push you with the right attitudes you’re going to be a lot more successful,” she said.

Schwaner is also a star in the classroom, she ranks in the top 10 of her senior class with a 4.4 GPA and attends the Shenandoah Valley Regional Governor’s School.

“Taking the higher level classes helped with everything, you have to be on top of it at all times. I’ve definitely struggled in school even though it might not seem like it from my grades but it can be hard to understand and you have to be really focused,” she said. “I’m very lucky, my parents have raised me in a way that it’s important to do well in school so I’ve always kind of grown up with that expectation.”

In addition to being a hard worker, Schwaner’s teachers say she’s a joy to have in class.

“Aurora keeps things light, to say the least. If you’re looking for something to break up any of the tedium of a classroom, if things get too serious, Aurora is the student you want. She has a natural humor about her and as often as she frustrated me I would find myself giggling at things she actually had said,” said Bill Terry, a history teacher at Staunton High School.

Terry said that Schwaner has a very positive impact on others and that she is able to talk to everyone.

“Everyone knows Aurora, she’s not only a leader in whatever sport that she happens to be in, she’s a leader in the classroom, she’s also a leader in the school and I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like her, and doesn’t respond to her,” he said.

Schwaner will run track at William & Mary University in the fall where she will study Kinesiology. As she prepares to graduate she hopes to be remembered for her hard work and encouraging others to do the same.

“Just work hard because when I came in, I’ve always been athletic but I was not a prodigy runner but I wanted it bad enough and worked hard enough. I’ve been able to accomplish a lot from that,” she said.

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