Fresno State Athletics
Former Track and Field student-athlete Annemarie Schwanz named 2018 Dean’s Medalist
5/4/2018 10:30:00 AM | General, Track & Field
FRESNO, Calif. – Annemarie Schwanz, a former two-time All-American for the Fresno State track and field team, was named a Dean's Medalist by the Fresno State Lyles College of Engineering on Thursday.
Schwanz, 25, originally from Neuruppin, Germany, completed her master's degree in civil engineering with a 4.0 GPA this semester, one year after exhausting her athletics eligibility.
She received her bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Fresno State in 2016 with a focus on water resource engineering, while participating in multiple student organizations. She also conducted research in transportation engineering which included a "Research study about the Transportation Schedule Design of the Hyperloop performed with two case studies."
Schwanz worked with Fresno State Transportation Institute Director, Dr. Aly Tawfik and another student to analyze the design factors for an 'intercity' case study from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The study determines vehicle capacity and optimal headway through a queuing analysis. For this work, Schwanz received the American Society of Civil Engineers Fresno Branch 'Outstanding Student Research Project' Award.
"Transportation is used by everyone, every single day," Schwanz said. "If it is driving, walking or flying, we are all doing it. Since it is such a basic need for all of us, I want to provide an efficient, reliable and safe way of travel."
In 2016, Schwanz was named Fresno State's Distinguished International Student and became a four-time Mountain West Scholar Athlete and three-time U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association all-academic honoree. Training four hours a day, traveling to competitions and keeping up on her studies, Schwanz's focus never wavered.
"I would always focus on the main goal and see the big picture in the end," said Schwanz. "There will always be small errors and problems in life, but as long as everything is still moving in the right direction, there is nothing to worry about."
A student-athlete from 2012-17, Schwanz became the first two-time NCAA Division I All-American distance runner in Fresno State history in the women's 1,500 meters and ran the fourth-fastest time in the nation that year. She also received the 2017 Fresno State Female Bulldog of the Year award at the 10th annual Night of Champions gala, hosted by the athletics department. Schwanz was a 2017 NCAA Mountain West Woman of the Year nominee, three-time Mountain West champion and seven-time all-conference selection. She holds eight school records ranging from the 800 to the 5,000 meters, and she served as captain of the cross country team.
Now days, Schwanz looks forward to becoming a skilled engineer and perhaps a long-distance running coach. For the time being, she says she is done with high-level competitive running, but will continue to participate in road races and triathlons.She currently serves as assistant engineer at Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group in Fresno.
For more information about the Dean's Medalists and the Lyles College of Engineering, click HERE.
Rebecca Wass, Lyles College of Engineering Communications Specialist, contributed to this report.
