Springfield star concludes storied career with pair of runner-up finishes.

COLUMBUS — Even back in seventh grade, Beau Brungard wanted to fly. The hurdles, more so than the other sprinting events, require plenty of leg strength, mobility and, of course, speed.

Brungard is no stranger to the spotlight, having made the state finals twice in football, regionals in basketball, and is now a state runner up for track in not just one, but two events.

But the path to the podium isn’t always an easy one. For many athletes, there’s always that one moment that particularly sticks out as a motivational factor. After qualifying for states a year ago, a bad case of the flu leading into the trip to Columbus caused the Springfield standout to lose 15 pounds.

Still recovering from his illness and not fully feeling himself, he hit a hurdle during the preliminary round, finishing next to last in a field of 18 competitors and only placed 17th because the 18th finisher was DQed.

“It stuck with me not only in track, but every other sport, just coming in last and just the feeling of defeat just crossing the finish line as the last person. It stuck with me throughout every sport, and something that helped me train harder, and it’s something you don’t ever want to feel again,” Brungard said. “It was a bad feeling that I had. Right after that I got on pace for football, got into the weight room every day (for) conditioning and just followed it through summer.”

On Friday, Brungard won his heat during the 110-meter hurdles with a 15.15 after being seeded at 15.27. He followed that performance with 39.73 in the 300 hurdles to advance to Saturday morning’s finals.

On Saturday, he took second in the 110, running a 15.06, coming just .25 seconds behind first-place Collin Haj Abed. He set a new personal record in his final high school event of his career, the 300 hurdles, clocking a blazing 39.09s.

Stumbling over the finish line, Brungard found one last burst of speed before hitting the track. As he stood up, with his arms perched on top of his head, he gave the jumbotron a hard glare, waiting for the results to pop up. Seconds can feel like hours, but when it was shown that Coldwater’s Tyler Schwieterman edged him by just .13 of a second, Brungard walked over and gave a congratulatory hug to Schwieterman.

Being atop of the podium is always the goal, but walking away as a two-time state runner up is nothing to shake a stick at, and Brungard remained humble despite his accomplishments.

“110s, I could have done better. It wasn’t my PR, but I’m just thankful that I was able to get second place. The first place runner was really good,” Brungard said. “Later in the season as you get more competitive runners, they push you more, and I think that’s what happened in the 300. I had two really push me today, helped me get my PR, but all glory to God for what he allowed me to do today.”

Brungard has been competing on the track since seventh grade, wanting to compete in something a little more interesting than just a straight-on sprint.

“I like taking on that challenge; it was fun to me. I got to just kinda get in my zone over in the corner with the hurdles doing my thing and I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and over the years technique got better.” Brungard said.

When it’s all said and done, after all the craziness that has impacted with the sports world over the past two years, whether it was COVID-19 eliminating a season and moving the meet locations last spring, to weather severely impacting the track and field slates this year, Brungard took glance down at his medal and reflected on what his time at Springfield has done for him as he prepares to move into Youngstown State this afternoon to prepare for football workouts.

“When I just think of Springfield, I just think of ‘thankful.’ I’m just so thankful of the coaches, my teammates, everyone that made everything happen,” Brungard said. “It was a great run in every single sport we did, and I’m just thankful for every opportunity I had.

“A lot of kids don’t have the opportunity to go to a state meet or a state football game, or play in the regionals for basketball, but I was able to and I’m just really thankful for that and Springfield Local is a place I’ll never forget and a place I’ll call home.”

sports@vindy.com