Mike Brungardt has big plans for his future after athletics, but he leaves his competitive prep career feeling good.
The Valedictorian of the Hinkley High School’s Class of 2013 with a 4.87 GPA, Brungardt is headed to Colorado State next year and plans on a career researching nanotechnology.
Brungardt will take with him six varsity athletic letters, including four for wrestling, one for cross country and one for the recently completed boys lacrosse season, where he played for the district co-op team based out of Gateway. He attempted a team-high 96 face-offs on the season, winning 32 of them, and also scored a goal.
What is your favorite high school memory, athletically or otherwise?
Pinning an Aurora Central wrestler, then that next Saturday having three friends text me that I was on the news, without me even knowing.
What’s the best piece of advice ever given to you in sport or life?
A coach once told me that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” My senior wrestling season completely proved this, as though I have very little natural talent or speed, my hard work and dedication lead me to a very successful season. I was told this my first year of high school wrestling, going 3-28 on the season, this year I was 26-15, a vast improvement! This saying is more applicable than in just sports. In school, a genius can have horrible grades and someone not as smart can have great ones. I live by this saying.
What’s the biggest sacrifice you have to make to play your sport?
The biggest sacrifice I made for a high school sport is in wrestling. Year round I had to diet, so I didn’t have to cut weight all season long. In addition I had to cut an extra pound or two, just before competing, usually by doing non-stop stair running, during my off period, during the school day. Another sacrifice I had to make was a whole day a week, as every Saturday I arrived at the school at 6:00 am, competed literally all day, not returning until well after the sun was down, and being almost to tired to do anything else that night. Wresting made me focus my time extremely wisely, and although I had to make several sacrifices, it made me an all around better student/young adult.
Are you a leader? If so, what do you think makes a good leader in yourself or others?
I believe that I am a leader, not because I am the biggest, most intelligent or most talented, but because I strive to work the hardest day in and day out. When this dedication is half of the largest leadership quality, and the other half is making this dedication contagious not by telling others, but by exemplifying for others.
Do you have any quirks or superstitions when it comes to your sport or in life in general?
Whenever I get really nervous or anxious for a match, race, game, test, or scholarship I put on my lucky pair of mismatched socks.
If you listen to music before a game, what gets you most ready for competition? If not, how do you get focused?
About 30 minutes before a match, or a race I’ll usually get alone warm-ups on and do a run through in my head while listening to a playlist consisting of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Awolnation, Benny Banassi, Rhianna, and Jay-Z. By the end of the playlist I’ll be mentally ready as well as physically ready from running with the music.
What’s a sport you’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t and why haven’t you?
I always wanted to try ice hockey, but there is not an affordable league nearby.
If you could pick a person living or dead to spend a day with, who would it be and why?
If I could meet anyone for a day, I would like to meet J. D. Salinger, simply to talk about my favorite book ever written: “The Catcher in the Rye.”
Other than sports, do you have another true passion in life and if so, what is it and why?
My passion in life is completely out of the realm of sports. One day I want to work in researching and developing nanotechnology. Specifically I want to help develop nanobots, in an effort to fight diseases. This fascination stems from break though research at the Florida Institute of Technology, where in small scale trials; nanobots were able to rid samples of blood with traces of hepatitis C with a 100% cure rate. Problems with these are the impacts on humans, environmental hazards when discharged, and making effective motors at such a small scale. I want to pursue this in my life, and one day use nanobots as an alternative way to treat diseases we once though were incurable such as non-Hotchkins lymphoma cancer, by only targeting the cancer cells and not the lymphnodes.
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
I see myself chasing the dream of pursing a job in researching nanotechnology. This involves working for a very large company with a job in circuitry and designing circuit boards and Nanoscale motors. Within 10 years, I would like to save up enough money to study Nanoscale engineering at the University at Albany and getting a job with a large partner such as IBM.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
