Photo submitted by Trenton Hall
The 2015 UIL 1A 3200m state champ Cash Kunkel from Burton has now transferred to Brenham High School for the 2017-2018 school year. Kunkel has been a resident of Brenham before his high school years, but attended Burton since his mother was an employee at Burton. Now that other employment opportunities have been presented, Kunkel will remain in Brenham for the remainder of his time in high school.
Kunkel had been one of 1A's strongest runners for the past three years. Dating back to his freshman year, he has won a medal in each event from the 800m to the 3200m including cross country and now in his is his senior season he will try to continue that streak in class 5A.
The transition is not as easy as just changing schools, "It was a difficult transition for me, I have a lot of friends and good relationships with many of the people there, but I've also lived in Brenham for the last 8 years so I had many friends here already." As far as athletics, "It is very exciting for me. Brenham has a strong history in cross country and last year they were a young but talented team. They are returning a lot of strong runners and I hope I can make a strong contribution to the team and our goals."
Photo submitted by Trenton Hall
The loss of Kunkel to 1A opens the door for other athletes to qualify for state or win the medals he could have possibly been on his way to winning. On the 5A side, it brings a seasoned and proven winner and competitor and adds to fields of athletes that are already deep and talented. "It will be a much larger challenge than it has in the past. While 1A has some good runners the depth of runners is much greater in 5A. Every race we run will be more and more challenging because there is a larger number of strong competitors."
Moving up several classifications could be an easy transition for Kunkel as he has competed in several non UIL post season events in both cross country and track and field against 5A and 6A competitors. "I think that running the higher classification races over the years has helped prepare me for 5A races coming up." Coach Hall of Brenham is confident that Kunkel should be a contribution, "He ran 1:57 and 4:21 last spring and should make an impact at 5A."
