Wayland Baptist University head track and field coach Brian Whitlock was there to watch former Bowie High School athlete Kirby Dunn compete in the Conference 3A 1,600-meter run.
Dunn didn’t exactly run well, either. Kirby raced in with a time of 4 minutes, 53.46 seconds, which was 18 seconds off the pace for seventh place at the 2006 state University Interscholastic League meet.
Whitlock still recruited Dunn anyway, and Kirby became a member of the Pioneer track and field team.
After a stellar college career, Dunn was recently named to the Wayland Baptist University Hall of Honor – part of a group of 11 people – the largest induction group in WBU history.
The induction ceremonies will take place this fall, according to a WBU release, at the Plainview campus.
This will mark the 25th anniversary celebration for the hall of honor, and the group includes six former athletes, one coach, one administration and three boosters.
Dunn’s addition, and that of the others, will bring the Hall of Honor class to 99 recipients overall.
“I was shocked to be honest,” said Dunn when he found out he would be inducted. “I was in the hospital at the time.”
Dunn is currently undergoing his second bout with testicular cancer, which came back last fall.
“I’ve had chemotherapy and there were six surgeries,” Dunn said. “I had the last surgery in April, and I spent three weeks in the hospital.”
Dunn said he has good days, and bad days, and that cancer has understandably taken its toll on him. He’s also dealt with compartment syndrome in his lower left leg.
Compartment syndrome, according to the website webmd.com, occurs when excessive pressure builds up inside an enclosed muscle space in the body – which results from bleeding or swelling. It impedes blood flow.
Dunn has persevered through it all, and he’s looking forward to the induction ceremony.
Kirby was a star on the Wayland Baptist track and field team, an eight-time All-American in five different middle-distance events. He also was a two-time NAIA national scholar-athlete. Read more of this column in the June 24 Bowie News.

Editor’s Note: The Storm Center column is the expressed written views of sports editor Eric Viccaro and not The Bowie News.

Wayland Baptist University’s Kirby Dunn (third from left with 4 on hip) runs during the 2009 NAIA national outdoor track and field championships. Dunn will be inducted into the WBU Hall of Honor during ceremonies this fall. (Courtesy photo by Jonathan Ramey/NAIA)