Concordia-St. Paul Athletic Hall of Fame
A Morristown, Minnesota native (Morristown High School), Russ Schwichtenberg, BA ’83, was a two-sport star and a key member of conference championship-winning football and baseball teams for the Comets in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Schwichtenberg, a quarterback on the football field and a first baseman on the baseball diamond, was a two-time All-UMAC pick in both sports. Despite orchestrating a run-heavy veer offense in his four years on the gridiron, he set the school record with four passing touchdowns in a game, a record that stood for many seasons. Schwichtenberg matched another record on the diamond with three home runs in a game in 1979, a mark that remains tied for the best in program history.
In his first season as the starting quarterback for the Comets in 1979, Schwichtenberg threw for 1,080 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing 58.1% of his passes, a school record at the time, to earn his first of two All-UMAC Second Team selections. He also set two more CSP records that season as his 19 completions and 282 passing yards against Mt. Senario both were program bests. He added UMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors against Northwestern-Wisconsin in his record-setting four touchdown performance.
Schwichtenberg followed up that season with 1,130 passing yards and five touchdowns in 1980. During the 1981 campaign, the team registered a 6-3 record to win the Twin River and UMAC conference titles as he grabbed All-UMAC Second Team honors for the second time. He threw for 603 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
He was a part of three more conference titles on the baseball field. After earning All-UMAC honorable mention honors in his sophomore season, he went on to earn all-conference honors twice over the next two seasons. Perhaps his best season came in 1982 as he hit .405 while helping the team to another conference title.
Schwichtenberg was active outside the athletic fields as a member of FCA, co-intramural sports director for three years and as a resident assistant for two years.
After receiving a degree in elementary education and K-12 physical education from Concordia in 1983, Schwichtenberg put his degree to good use as he spent 10 years working as a rostered junior high teacher for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. He then moved into a career in sales, embarking on a successful 25 year career with Thrivent Financial.
Currently, Schwichtenberg works with Camp Omega in the area of gift development. His latest project, a new Adult/Family Retreat Center, recently broke ground.
Schwichtenberg has returned home to Morristown where he lives with his wife, Suzanne (Krause), BA ‘85. His wife, their two children, Tyler and Tara, and his sister, Mardi, also attended Concordia-St. Paul.
