BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider

MADISON, Wis. - When legendary Wisconsin men's track and field coach Ed Nuttycombe first laid eyes on James Dunkleberger, he saw the makings of a decent, if somewhat limited, contributor to the cause.

"I saw a good athlete who was going to do a lot of good things,'' Nuttycombe said. "But a national championship? Nope, I didn't see it.''

Dunkleberger came to UW from small-town Lake Mills in 1992 where he was a highly regarded pole vaulter and sprinter. The idea of him becoming a standout in the 10-event decathlon and the seven-event heptathlon seemed a bit far-fetched even though the pole vault is arguably the most challenging event to learn and Dunkleberger was already very good at it.

So, the notion that Dunkleberger would wind up as the one and, to date, only NCAA champion in the decathlon from Wisconsin requires some explanation.
For one thing, Dunkleberger was emphatic about those who doubted him. One person in particular.

"Myself,'' he said.

Why?

"The fear of disappointing other people who I felt like I was competing for, but who never had a chance to do the things I got to do,'' he said.

For another, Dunkleberger was motivated by a group of multi-event athletes at UW, which included Louis Hinshaw, who won a Big Ten Conference title and was an All-American in the decathlon 1994, and Greg Gill, who won Big Ten championships in 1997 and '98 and was an all-American in the decathlon in 1998.


For his part, Dunkleberger won Big Ten crowns in the heptathlon in 1995 and '96 and was a two-time all-American in the decathlon in '96 and '97.

"That was a pretty close group there,'' Nuttycombe said. "That was a good group of guys.''

Gill said Dunkleberger's strength was his desire to work hard and somehow get better.

"His athleticism was certainly unmistakable,'' Gill said, "but in terms of his ability to refine and focus that talent into the decathlon itself was certainly a byproduct of his work ethic.''

Dunkleberger's likeability was a plus.

"James was, and still is, just a great guy,'' Gill said. "Someone who brightens up a room when he walks into it. He's always smiling. He helps make those around him better.''

Dunkleberger recalls sitting down with Pat Hauser, his track coach at Lake Mills, and hearing about the rigors of the decathlon for the first time.
"I knew nothing about it,'' Dunkleberger said.

He got acclimated quicker than most thanks mainly to his familiarity with the pole vault and his speed in the 100. The other eight disciplines – the 400 meters, 1500 meters, 110-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus and javelin – would require various degrees of attention and proficiency.

After finishing fifth in the NCAA meet in 1996 with 7,672 points, Dunkleberger set his sights on making program history. Along the way, he did something out of the ordinary, according to Nuttycombe.



A physical education major, Dunkleberger worked as a student teacher at Madison La Follette High School. What it meant was a pretty special situation in the sense of the time commitment and practice schedule. He sometimes would practice when everybody else was going home.

"It made it more difficult for him,'' Nuttycombe said.

Gill concurred.

"Certainly, his student teaching impacted his availability for technical workouts,'' he said of Dunkleberger. "He figured out a way to balance both his academics and athletics.

"I certainly think it was difficult, but he always came in with a positive attitude. So, the extent that it might have been weighing on him, it wasn't apparent to those around him.''

Dunkleberger was matter-of-fact.

"I made it work,'' he said. "You do what you have to do.''

Dunkleberger said winning the NCAA title – he scored 7,924 points, a once-school record total that has since been surpassed by three-time Olympian Zach Ziemek en route to a second-place showing in 2016 (8,300) and Joe Detmer on his way to a runner-up finish in 2007 (7,963) – was what you might expect.

"It was such a dream,'' Dunkleberger said.

Being inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame means a lot of hard work, but also a bit of good fortune.

"Because if you (struggle) in one event, you're out,'' Dunkleberger said. "So, it wasn't just hard work and talent that goes along with it. You definitely need some luck on your side.''

BEST OF THREE

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One: Coming Full Circle
Dunkleberger said the phone call he got from UW athletic director Chris McIntosh, telling him he was going to be a hall of famer, made him appreciate the journey. "It just felt like all that sacrifice, all that hard work, all that time, all that worry kind of came full circle,'' Dunkleberger said. "It just felt like all that effort was worth it.

Two: Strange, but true
Dunkleberger said a weird aspect of his NCAA experiences came to life the day before the decathlon began. "The first thing I always think of,'' he said, "was the day before the meet you get your lane selections for the 100, the hurdles and the 400. I got the outside lane in 400, which is the worst possible (assignment). I got it all three years.''

Three: Three adds up to four
In addition to Dunkleberger, efforts in the 1997 NCAA meet, Reggie Torian won the 110-meter hurdles and Pascal Dobert prevailed in the 3000-meter steeplechase. The Badgers finished tied for fourth place with Oklahoma and UCLA with 31 points.