Model of versatility

Brian Schmidt possesses the diverse skillset needed to excel in track and field.

He’s fast, he’s springy, and he’s willing to try new things. 

“You have to decide which events you want to put him in,” said Mountain Brook High School head track and field coach Michael McGovern, “because he’s going to do well in all of them.”

Schmidt’s versatility has enabled him to find success in nearly every event he’s attempted. He broke the MBHS long jump record at last May’s state outdoor track meet and the school pentathlon record at an indoor meet this past January. 

Both are striking achievements for a former basketball player who only recently shifted his attention from the hardwood to the oval. Schmidt, a senior, divided his time between basketball and outdoor track his freshman through junior years.

This winter, he dropped basketball for indoor track. His accomplishments last spring convinced him to make the decision. 

“I knew that if I kept doing well, I could have some colleges look at me,” Schmidt said. “That’s really what was the inspiration for me to fully dedicate my time this year to track.”

Schmidt capped a pivotal junior season with a pair of top-five finishes at the Class 7A state meet last May. He placed third in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6 feet, 4 inches, and fifth in the long jump. His horizontal leap of 23 feet etched his name in the Spartan record books. 

“I didn’t really ever think I could have done that well,” Schmidt said, “but it’s awesome that it happened that way.”

Schmidt’s impressive marks improved significantly upon his personal bests at the beginning of the season. Over the course of the spring, he increased his long jump by two and a half feet and his high jump by six inches. 

He said the turning point of his breakthrough outdoor campaign came during one of the season’s first competitions. At the Seven Team Meet hosted by Hewitt-Trussville, his jumps grew progressively farther and higher. 

“So many good things happened there,” Schmidt said. “I was like, ‘I can be really good at this if I practice.’”

Despite a prolonged battle with knee tendinitis this season, he managed top-six finishes in the high jump and long jump at February’s state indoor meet.

But Schmidt does more than jump. He also contributes to multiple Mountain Brook relay teams, including the 4x100-meter, 4x200-meter and 4x400-meter quartets. 

“He covers a lot of bases for us,” McGovern said. 

Schmidt flashed his versatility in January. He recorded a school-record point total in his first stab at the indoor pentathlon, which includes events from each track and field discipline — sprints, hurdles, throws, jumps and distance. 

Schmidt has taken visits to a number of college campuses. As of mid-April, he had culled his list of possible destinations down to Colorado State University, the University of Montana and Western State Colorado University. 

Schmidt spends extended time in Colorado each year. He said he wants to attend a school in the region so that he can further develop his athletic ability both on and off the track. Schmidt is an avid mountain biker, rock climber and hiker. 

He is being recruited as both a jumper and decathlete. 

“The coaches are just looking for a Swiss Army knife kind of kid,” Schmidt said. “I think that would be me in most cases.”