When it rains, it pours. And apparently, when it pours, John Brunk soars. Brunk anchored the Wildcats’ 4x400-relay team’s victory and posted more top-eight finishes at the American River Invitational Saturday to earn Wildcat of the Week honors.
While other athletes took shelter under tarps and canopies on a rainy day in Sacramento, Brunk was too busy competing to worry about staying dry. The junior decathlete from Oakdale finished fifth in the pole vault with a leap of 4.09 meters, eighth in the javelin with a toss of 145-feet-1, seventh in the 110-meter hurdles heat in 17.07, and ran the third leg for the fifth-place 4x100-meter relay team. J. Patrick Smith, Nick Sloggy, Brunk, and Hakeem Dyson did the loop in 42.51 seconds.
But Brunk’s biggest highlight of the day came in the 4x400 relay. When Brunk received the baton, the Wildcats were in third place (not bad considering the steep competition). He tucked in behind the two lead runners for the first 200 meters, and as they headed into turn three, made his move. Brunk blew by the pair with ease and coasted home with a split time of 49.34, giving the team of Brunk, Michael Beeman, Andrew Kokinakes and Smith the win by more than four seconds, in a time of 3:21.10.
Brunk will keep busy this weekend when he competes in the Mustang Invitational decathlon at Delta Community College in Stockton.
