After spending 2021-22 as the interim head coach of the women's track and field program, John Brunk, returns to his lead assistant role for the program in 2022-23.
Brunk’s season at the helm was a successful one, as he led the Chico State women’s team to a second place finish in the 2022 CCAA Track & Field Championships and a No. 6 West Region ranking. Under Brunk’s tutelage, the Wildcat women racked up 16 All-CCAA performances at the conference meet, and during the season was instrumental in helping Amy Bell and Cristian Brady set new Chico State records in the pole vault.
Brunk, one of the Chico State’s most successful track & field athletes of the last decade-plus, was named interim head coach of the Wildcat women’s track & field program on October 11, 2021. Prior to the appointment, he served as an integral part of the Chico State track & field coaching staff since 2015, working closely with the men’s and women’s high jumpers, pole vaulters and multi-event athletes while handling administration duties for both the men’s and women’s programs. He now returns to that position.
As an assistant under men’s head coach Oliver Hanf, Brunk helped guide the Chico State men’s track & field program to four California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) titles and a pair of national top 10 rankings. For his efforts, Brunk was named NCAA Division II West Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2017 by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Working in tandem with women’s track & field head coach Robert Nooney during that same time period, Brunk was instrumental in the Wildcat women’s team capturing three CCAA championships and a No. 7 national ranking in 2017.
Brunk’s many competitive achievements while a student at Chico State make him one of the most decorated track & field athletes in Wildcats history. Between 2011 and 2014, the Central California product earned two All-America honors, seven All-CCAA awards, and was named All-West Region seven times by the USTFCCCA. He was also named Chico State’s Bud Hanna Male Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2014.
Brunk’s success helped the ’Cats win four CCAA conference championships and post four national Top 25 finishes.
Brunk’s first All-America came in 2012, when he finished fourth in the nation in the decathlon. As a senior, Brunk scored his second decathlon All-America honor, was named USTFCCCA All-West Region in the decathlon, 400-meter dash, 4x100m and 4x400m relays, and earned All-CCAA accolades with first place finishes in the 400m and 4x100m, as well as a second place showing in the 4x400m during the 2014 conference meet.
As a result, Brunk is a prominent name in the Chico State record books. He ranks fifth
all-time in the decathlon (7,351 points) and fourth in the 400-meter dash (47.66 seconds). He also teamed with J Patrick Smith, Teddy Elsenbaumer and Nick Sloggy to post the third-fastest 4x400m relay time (3:11.62) in Wildcats history.
Before attending Chico State, Brunk was a multi-sport star at Oakdale High School, lettering in track & field, basketball, and soccer.
Brunk received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology/Movement Studies and Coaching Administration from Chico State in 2013. He earned his master’s degree at Chico State in Kinesiology/Coaching Administration in 2015.
