UW Athletic Hall of Fame: James Dunkleberger

 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…