Brunecz joined the Tornado staff in July of 2023 as the head cross country and track & field coach.

King Highlights - Women's Cross Country

• Ermay Vazquez Adame earned All-Conference Carolinas honors after an 18th-place finish at the Conference Carolinas Championships

Conference Carolinas Finishes - Women's Cross Country
2023 - 6th

Year-by-Year Highlights
2023 - Brunecz led the Tornado to a sixth-place finish in his first season, with Ermay Vazquez Adame earning All-Conference Carolinas honors. The Tornado had three individuals run at the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional meet, with Vazquez Adame leading the way with an 82nd-place finish. 

King Highlights - Men's Cross Country

• Jordan Keith was named the Conference Carolinas Scholar-Athlete of the Year presented by HUDL, while also earning College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors. 
• Keith, along with Josh Booher, were named All-Conference Carolinas after recording a fifth and 11th-place finish, respectively

Conference Carolinas Finishes - Men's Cross Country
2023 - 8th

Year-by-Year Highlights
2023 - King had a pair of All-Conference Carolinas honoree in Bruneczs' first season, with Jordan Keith earning First Team All-Conference after finishing fifth at the Conference Carolinas Championships, while Josh Booher finished 11th to earn Second Team All-Conference honors. The Tornado would finish 8th at the conference championships. At the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional, Booher finished 54th, while Keith was 61st to lead the Tornado.

King Highlights - Women's Track and Field

• Annah Blankenship racked up numerous academic awards in the first season for Brunecz, as she was named College Sports Communicator Academic All-District, in addition to winning the Conference Carolinas Elite 23 Award for Outdoor Track and Field. 

Conference Carolinas Finishes - Women's Track and Field
2023-24 - 11th (indoor) 10th (outdoor)

Year-by-Year Highlights
2023-24 - After finishing 11th at the Conference Carolinas Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Tornado earned a 10th-place finish at the Outdoor Championships, improving on their finish from the 2022-23 season. Annah Blankenship was named Conference Carolinas Women's Outdoor Track and Field Elite 23 Award winner, and was also College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. 

King Highlights - Men's Track and Field

• Jordan Keith was named Academic All-Conference Carolinas, along with Clathon Henfield, Matthew Henfield and Mason Sanders, while Keith also earned a spot on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. 

Conference Carolinas Finishes - Men's Track and Field
2023-24 - 11th (indoor) 11th (outdoor)

Year-by-Year Highlights
2023-24 - The Brunecz era got off to a hot start, as at the first meet of the indoor season the Tornado shattered two school records, including Lance Hatcher, who set the record in the 1000 meters with a time of 2:38.29. King had three school record times in the 300 meters, led by Clathon Henfield, who finished in 35.82 seconds. He was joined in breaking the record by Skyler Miller and Matthew Henfield. 

Prior to King

Brunecz has served as the director of cross country and track & field at Methodist University since 2019, after serving as the head cross country coach and track's distance coach since 2015. Over seven years, he guided the Monarchs to five top three USA South finishes on the men's side in cross country and one on the women's side. That included a USA South East Division championship for the men in 2020 with a perfect score.

Under his tutelage, both the Methodist men's and women's cross country team posted their best NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship finishes in school history, 18th for the women in 2018 an 15th for the men in 2017. Individually, Brunecz coached 35 all-conference performers, including 17 first team members, four conference champions and one USA South Rookie of the Year in cross country. Five of his runners garnered all-region honors, including a pair of national qualifiers.

On the track, Brunecz coached the Monarchs to seven school records in the mid-distance and distance events. He also guided the first USA South champions in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the conference's inaugural championship in 2019. In seven years with the track program, he coached 117 all-conference honorees, including 46 that earned first team accolades. That list includes four USA South Athletes of the Year, two rookies of the year and 30 all-region athletes. He also guided six individuals to All-America honors and 10 NCAA Division III National Championships qualifiers.

Prior to his time at Methodist, Brunecz served as the head cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at Pine Forest High School. He was selected 2011 Mid-South Athletic Conference Boys Cross Country Coach of the Year and guided them to their first state qualification since 1987. In cross country he coached 21 all-conference honorees along with one individual state qualifier.

In track & field, Brunecz coached 12 conference champions at Pine Forest, 10 regional champions, three state champions and one national champion. Under his guidance, 40 individuals qualified for the state championships and 13 qualified for the national championships while five school records were set.

Personal

Brunecz graduated from State University of New York at Fredonia in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in education. He owns USATF Coaching Education Level 1 and Level 2 certifications with a distance events focus.

Brunecz has also trained and raced competitively at a variety of distances in recent years.
Mile - 4:37 (June 2022 at Sir Walter Raleigh Pop-Up Miles)
Marathon - 2:38:38 (February 2023 at Novant Health Wilmington Marathon) *PR*
12-Hour Run - 86 miles (December 2022 at 12 Hour Nutcracker Endurance Run) *PR*