An enjoyable 5-sport career ends with Teagan Brunk's top 2, tennis and baseball
Shenandoah's Teagan Brunk has competed in football, bowling, basketball, tennis and baseball during his five-sport career.
Shenandoah senior Teagan Brunk has enjoyed his five-sport career, and his favorite of the five, baseball, is one he plans on continuing to play collegiately.
Brunk has been a part of Shenandoah’s football, basketball, bowling, tennis and baseball teams during his high school career.
Brunk is one of eight area four-sport senior athletes that are being featured over the next four weeks.
He said playing in multiple sports has taught him versatility.
“I have to be able to go from one sport to the next,” Brunk said, “and to compete at such a high level in all of them.”
Baseball, though, has always been his favorite.
Shenandoah's Teagan Brunk warms up on the mound during a home game last season. Brunk said baseball has been his favorite sport during his five-sport career.
“I find baseball enjoyable every time I step on the field,” Brunk said. “It started at tee ball through Parks and Rec and was on Nick Babe’s team with a whole bunch of kids in our grade. That just carried all the way through.”
He said Babe, who was his primary baseball coach through sixth grade, and continues to help him with his game, has been a great influence on his baseball career.
Brunk’s favorite sports memory during his career came on the baseball diamond last summer in a home game against Denison when he homered, tripled and doubled in the same game, finishing a single short of the cycle.
“That was a fun night,” Brunk said. “We hit three home runs that night and I don’t think the wind was blowing out.”
Brunk plans on continuing his baseball career after high school, as he has committed to Sterling College, an NAIA school in central Kansas.
Brunk said his second favorite sport is tennis, a sport that he has been a key piece to the program’s recent success, which includes two straight substate final appearances.
Shenandoah's Teagan Brunk competes at last season's individual district tournament where Brunk and teammate Lucas Sun advanced to state. Brunk's individual and team success on the tennis court is a big reason why tennis ranked as Brunk's second favorite sport during his five-sport career.
“We keep winning because our six is just as good as our one,” Brunk said. “It’s a pretty even team and we’re very competitive and very good. It’s really fun.”
Brunk adds that he hopes to be in the top three on this spring’s tennis team and said breaking through to the state team tournament is this year’s goal. He was a state doubles qualifier last year with Lucas Sun, beating teammates Luke Daoust and Ryan Lawrence, who had been the team’s top doubles pair all season, in the district final. All return this spring.
Brunk said if there was a moment he would like to have back, it happened on the football field, where Brunk has been the primary kicker for the Mustangs over the last few years. He missed a PAT in a one-point loss to Clarinda as a junior but has shown the leg to be trusted in a long field goal attempt that could have won the game against Clarinda as a senior. He missed the kick wide to the right, but said it was okay as his team ended up winning in overtime.
Brunk’s two-sport season just ended as he bowled and played basketball. He said playing two sports in one season is pretty fun and he has enjoyed doing that over the years.
Brunk said while playing baseball at Sterling, he also plans to pursue a physical therapy degree.
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4-Sport Senior Teagan Brunk, Shenandoah, has played football, basketball, bowling, tennis and baseball during his high school career.
