by Sam Fariss
Annie Kunz, 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, photo by Kevin Morris / @kevmofoto
In her 11th piece for RunBlogRun, Sam Fariss writes about heptathlete star Annie Kunz and her love of soccer.
Run by Women, #11: Annie Kunz, the two-sport phenom
By Sam Fariss
Annie Kunz was an Aggie at Texas A&M from 2011 to 2016 and she accomplished quite a bit in her five years at the school.
While at the university, Kunz competed in not just track and field but also Division I women’s soccer. Collegiate athletes are some of the few and far between who are talented enough to earn a spot on their team, much less those who are gifted enough to have their name appear on two of the school’s rosters.
Kunz, despite continuing her athletic career as a professional track and field athlete, was quite the talented soccer player.
“[Kunz] has appeared in 96 matches for her career, including 47… Boasts 39 goals and 18 assists for her career, good for 96 points… Owns nine game-winning goals… 39 goals ranks seventh in school history and 96 points ranks 10th,” the 12th Man website boasts.
Her soccer career lasted from 2011 to 2014 at Texas A&M and she was able to collect many personal and team awards while playing.
Freshman year, Kunz was on the Freshman Top 100 Players list as well as the Big 12 Top 20 Players list. Sophomore year she was able to earn everything from SEC Academic Honor Roll to All-SEC First Team; both awards she repeated in her junior and senior seasons.
Kunz is now known for her prowess in the heptathlon as a member for Team USA. She has competed in both the 2020 Olympic Games as well as the 2019 World Championships.
In 2019, Kunz earned a 13th place finish during just her third year as a professional athlete. While at the Tokyo Games in 2020, after earning a first place finish at the USATF Olympic Trials, she finished 6th with 6420 points for the seven events.
Kunz is currently ranked 5th in the world for the women’s heptathlon and hopes to continue her career with even more success.
