Cornell University Athletics

In 1966, he won the indoor Heptagonal 600-yard dash championship in a Cornell record time of 1:11.5 and captured the outdoor Heps 440 title. At the Mason-Dixon Games in Louisville, Ky., he won the indoor 600-yard dash, running a 1:10.6 to beat Lee Evans, making him one of the last runners to beat Evans, who was the world[apos]s top quartermiler in 1966 and who later became the 1968 Olympic 400-meter gold medalist and world record holder. Bruckel anchored the 4x400 relay to victory at the Philadelphia Inquirer Games, running a 48.2 leg, and again anchored the relay to victory at the Penn Relays, with a split of 46.1. He won the outdoor IC4A 440 championship while also placing fourth in the 220. As a senior, he tied for first in the 100 and won the 220-yard dash at the outdoor Heps, and placed second in the 100-yard dash at the outdoor IC4As. At the NCAA outdoor track championships, he anchored the mile relay to a third-place finish and All-America honors in running a still-existing Cornell record time of 3:08.0. Following graduation, he was a 200-meter Olympic trials finalist. He ran a 20.3, which equaled the Olympic record but just missed making the 1968 U.S. Olympic team. He was captain of the 1966-67 track team and a graduate of McQuaid Jesuit High School, where he was a spilt end in football and a quartermiler in track.