Funk named Athlete of Year

LENOX — Lenox has had a rich athletic tradition, winning state championships in football and baseball during the past two decades, with several other teams winning conference titles and contending for state competition.

The community has even produced NFL starting offensive tackle Spencer Brown of the Buffalo Bills, who gained his opportunity for future stardom at the University of Northern Iowa.

But, in terms of elite production across four sports, including multiple individual state championships, 2025 senior Gabe Funk has a legacy at Lenox High School that’s hard to top. And, like Brown, he’s getting a Division I opportunity at the University of Northern Iowa, in track and field.

“When Spencer was back (in April for a Buffalo Bills video project) we talked in the hallway,” Funk said. “I think he was pretty pumped that I was going to UNI, too. He said to enjoy it. It was a lot of fun for him.”

As a young boy Funk was influenced by Spencer Brown and his teammates that upended perennial power Nodaway Valley for the Pride of Iowa Conference basketball title.

“I looked up to those guys,” Funk said. “I thought, those guys are really good and I want to be like them. Then when Spencer went D-1 at UNI I thought, I want to do something like that someday.”

Now, he is. UNI projects Funk as a 400-meter runner in indoor track before his speciality, the 400-meter low hurdles, in the outdoor season. He could also run some 400s and maybe even dabble in the decathlon, a 10-event competition in which his overall athletic ability could come into play.

“We’ll see after I get established, but it’s something I’ve thought about trying,” Funk said.

For his exploits as a quarterback that led Lenox to the state semifinals in the UNI-Dome twice, an all-conference basketball player who led his team in every major statistical category, multiple state titles in track and an all-state career in baseball, Funk has been named 2025 South Central Iowa Athlete of the year by three regional newspapers.

The honor was created in 2013 as a joint venture by the Creston News Advertiser and Osceola Sentinel Tribune. Since then a third Shaw Media newspaper, the Adair County Free Press, has joined in the collaborative effort to honor the region’s outstanding graduating male and female senior athletes. There are nine area high schools covered regularly by the three participating newspapers.

Records in 4 sports

Funk’s name is on school records in football, basketball, track and baseball. He wrapped up his athletic career this summer for Lenox’s 20-10 baseball team by batting .427 with 56 stolen bases in 56 attempts, which topped not only Class 1A, but the entire state. (Adler Reed of Mount Ayr was third with 45.) His range in center field was valuable to the Tiger defense, and he also contributed as a pitcher, finishing with a 4-2 record and 34 strikeouts in 27 innings.

Funk, the son of Kim Morris of Lenox and Jeremy Funk of Red Oak, was also valedictorian of his class with a 4.0 grade point average. He said he continued to stay out for four sports, despite collegiate opportunities arising in football and track, out of a love of competition and loyalty to his teammates.

“It’s small-town pride,” Funk said. “You do it for your friends. You do one sport to help them out, and they’ll do one for you. It’s an unspoken bond. Plus, you’re constantly competing instead of just working on something. I’m a competitive person.”

Michael Nardini, Lenox’s boys track and field coach and co-coach in football with Cole Bonde, saw elite athletic potential when he first met Funk as an elementary school student.

“When I moved to Lenox as a K-12 counselor I had Gabe in class as a fifth grader,” Nardini recalled. “I’ve watched him grow. His first big standout moments came in junior track. He went to state meets and won several events. He won the long jump, the hurdles, just about any race that he ran. He really took off hurdling his freshman year with coach Bonde and started to focus more on that. But he also ran on our state 4x800 team as a freshman, and he only ran the 800 one more time after that when he set our school record (1:59.9). At one point basketball was his favorite sport, then after junior high it kind of shifted to football. And he just continued to excel in track.”

FOOTBALL

With the graduation of veteran quarterbacks Carter Still and Cullen Wood, Nardini recalls the moment that a young Gabe Funk first made his mark in high school football. Funk was a 6-foot, 140-pound freshman being considered with some older candidates to take over as signal-caller.

“It was our last workout before pads and I remember coach Bonde couldn’t be there that morning because of work,” Nardini said. “We were running plays and having some trouble handling center snaps and the offense just wasn’t working. I put Gabe in, and all of a sudden you felt a change. The offense started clicking. I called Cole and said, ‘I think we found our quarterback.’ He had the job from that day until his last game as a senior in the Dome.”

Funk remembers that practice session in August 2021.

“I got in and concentrated on not fumbling the snaps and getting the plays off,” Funk said. “The offense was kind of similar to junior high, so I kind of had the plays down.”

Funk’s role in the offense gradually grew from that first season, when Isaac Grundman ran for 1,669 yards for a 9-1 Tiger team eliminated in the playoffs by Newell-Fonda. The Tigers went 11-1 with semifinal appearances in the UNI-Dome in both 2022 and 2024, along with a 9-2 campaign and quarterfinal playoff loss to rival Bedford in 2023.

In four seasons with Funk at quarterback and defensive back, Lenox had a 40-5 record. On defense last season, Funk had five interceptions and 53 tackles.

“He takes away the middle of the field,” Nardini said. “As he got older and bigger (170 pounds) he got better and coming up in run support and making tackles. He would have played safety in the Shrine Bowl if he hadn’t hurt his ankle (postseason baseball injury). I think he could have played wide receiver or safety in college, but he wasn’t getting the offers he hoped for. There was a lot of preferred walk-on talk from places like UNI, South Dakota, some FCS and high Division II schools. But his only D-1 scholarship offer was from UNI in track and he appreciates that opportunity.”

Funk completed 64 of 101 passes as a senior for 1,319 yards and 19 touchdowns, with only three interceptions. He also ran for 1,250 yards and 29 touchdowns on 112 carries. The backfield also included Jordan Martin-England running for 1,045 yards and 19 touchdowns. Receiver Laramie Stoaks had 25 catches for 371 yards and three TDs. Despite missing half of the season with injury, Dawson Evans had 11 catches for 250 yards and five TDs.

“Lenox has been known for their strong run game, so teams would stack the box and we had a lot of plays with guys wide open downfield because they were expecting the run,” Funk said.

“Gabe’s passing ability was underrated,” Nardini said. “We were able to throw downfield with him and teams had to honor him and JJ as runners. We let Gabe run a lot of read plays later in his career. If the end crashed down on JJ, he’d just keep it and go outside, or stop and throw back to the twin (receiver) side.”

Funk’s school records in football include points scored in a season (369 in 2024), points scored in a career (928), career passing yards (3,759) and longest touchdown pass (74 yards to Jordan Martin-England, 2024). In his career he amassed 7,098 total yards and 126 touchdowns.

BASKETBALL

Funk loved basketball as a youngster, playing on travel teams in Creston with the likes of Parker Varner and Jake Hoyt, as well as a club team based in Stanton.

“When Covid hit, I was out in my grandma’s driveway every day playing basketball,” Funk said. “That was the summer going into eighth grade.”

Despite his passion shifting more toward football as a high school student, Funk continued to thrive on the basketball court. He made all-conference and all-substate and led the Tigers last season in scoring, rebounding, steals and assists. He broke the school’s all-time scoring record held since 1980 by Tod Gordon (1,261 points) by finishing with 1,645 points. He also holds Lenox’s career steals record of 238.

Funk averaged 22.4 and 21.3 points per game his final two years, along with grabbing 10.9 and 8.1 rebounds per game those seasons. He led the team in assists three straight years.

“To lead a team in all of those statistics, it’s insane,” said Lenox boys basketball coach Michael West. “You have to be a phenomenal athlete and a smart player. He puts himself in good position and lets his instincts take over. Most of his steals are in the passing lanes. He’s a real problem for the opposition. At 6-2, he can really jump and when he gets a rebound he can just go.”

West, a former all-stater at Orient-Macksburg and player at Central College, said he watched Funk develop his skills over the past three years despite being so busy in three other sports.

“As a four-sport athlete it’s tough for him to put a lot of time in during the offseason, but when it was time for basketball he worked at it,” West said. “He was always an excellent driver, but he also developed into a 3-point shooter.”

“I love basketball,” Funk said. “When you’re hot and riding that momentum wave, with the crowd behind you, that’s really fun.”

TRACK AND FIELD

There’s nowhere that Gabe Funk’s star shines brighter than on the track oval. He’s a five-time state champion (two shuttle hurdle relays, two 110-meter high hurdles and one 400-meter low hurdles). He was state runner-up in the 400 meters as a senior and placed third and second in the 400-meter hurdles, behind current Stanford University runner Ryce Reynolds of Mount Ayr, his previous two years. Funk was second in the 110 hurdles as a sophomore before winning back-to-back titles.

In his career, Funk has won five state titles and earned 11 state meet medals. He won the Drake Relays 400-meter hurdles last spring in 52.40.

“Being the first ever from our school to win at Drake, when it’s from all the classes, I took pride in that,” Funk said. “I thought, I can’t believe I just did that! I saw the UNI coach on the infield after the race and he gave me a big thumbs up.”

His school record 14.2 in the 110-meter hurdles was recorded at the 2025 state meet, far surpassing his previous best of 14.7. He had qualified third in the prelims, but in the finals put the perfect race together to cross the finish line first.

“It was perfect conditions, against good competition, and I just felt great that entire race,” Funk said.

That helped make up for the disappointment of the shuttle hurdle relay team, seeking another state title, that suffered a sub-par race and finished ninth in the prelims. The Tigers just a spot in the finals. Funk also ran frequently on the sprint medley and 4x400 relays.

“Relays were my favorite,” Funk said. “I loved getting the baton, maybe not in first place, but hawking someone down from behind. We had a good team and that makes it fun even for the guys who aren’t winning, but just placing and scoring some points for the team. We took pride in having a better track team than Lenox had in the past. We had a great turnout. I truly believe developing speed in the spring helps you in football.”

“Gabe’s best days in track are still ahead of him,” Nardini said. “I was talking with Mount Ayr coach Brad Elliott last year when he had Ryce (Reynolds) and I had Gabe competing against each other, talking about how special it was to coach talent like that. Coach Elliott described it as having a Lamborghini and you know you have to take it back to the dealership soon. Enjoy it while you can.”

Funk is part of nine school records in track and field: 200 meters (22.5 in 2024), 400 meters (49.09 in 2025), 800 meters (1:59.9 in 2024), 110 meter hurdles (14.20 at 2025 state meet), 400 meter hurdles (52.40 at 2025 Drake Relays), 4x100 relay (45.08, 2024, with Jordan Martin-England, Dawson Evans and Donald Bashor), 4x200 relay (1:32.70, 2023, with Isaac Grundman, Samson Adams and Donald Bashor), sprint medley relay (1:32.70, 2023, with Isaac Grundman, Samson Adams and Donald Bashor) and shuttle hurdle relay (59.72, 2024 state meet record, with Donald Bashor, Jordan Martin-England and Dawson Evans).

At one time Funk was part of a 10th Lenox school record in the 4x400 relay with Isaac Grundman, Donald Bashor and Samson Adams in 2023, but that record was broken this year by the team of Laramie Stoaks, Caden Kaufman, Brody Brokaw and Jordan Martin-England in 3:33.77.

Lenox Elementary Principal Bill Huntington, former track coach at Southwestern Community College, sent Funk’s track and field resume to several college programs and Funk said about a week later he heard from UNI. Until then, he was not hearing a lot of football or track recruiting pitches that offered scholarship support.

“I’m very grateful for what Mr. Huntington did for me,” Funk said. “At one time football was my main goal, but I don’t know if it’s my (lean) frame or 8-man football, but I wasn’t getting many looks. Most were preferred walk-on offers. When the D1 offer came from UNI, I thought I can’t pass that up.”

Focusing on one sport in college should lead to improvement on the track, Funk speculates. He’ll miss the camaraderie on the field in working together on exceptional teams like he played on at Lenox, but also looks forward to challenging himself on the track individually.

“When you are on a good team having success in those other sports it’s really enjoyable,” Funk said. “But in track the success is really on you. You control what you can control. It’s on you, and I kind of like that. I think I have a lot of room for improvement. Guys at 4A schools are doing track nine months a year, and I’m doing it four months a year. I hope I can shoot up there in my times.”

Funk plans to major in accounting and business management at UNI, but also keeps the door open to be involved in athletics somehow in the future, such as high school coaching.

BASEBALL

Funk became a two-time all-state player in baseball and unanimous all-conference and all-district twice. With his school-record 56 steals and a .427 batting average, he came the perfect leadoff batter in front of all-stater Dawson Evans. Funk scored a team-high 48 runs, ranking sixth in Class 1A.

West was the assistant baseball coach this year, and has a memory of Funk’s prowess in center field as a defensive player.

“He covers so much ground out there,” West said. “He ran a long ways to get a line drive at Mount Ayr, and did a somersault after catching the ball. I thought, nobody else could make that play. When he got on base people always tried picking him off, and they just couldn’t do it. He did a bunch of delay steals from second to third. He had such good timing.”

Lenox baseball coach Trevor Luther, a former Creston standout, said Funk developed into one of the state’s best players despite not having time to devote to the sport that many other all-stars do. Specifically, he became a much better hitter than early in his career.

“Baseball is not Gabe’s easiest sport by any means, but he’s so naturally gifted that he became a difference-maker for us,” Luther said. “He is so aware of what he can and cannot do, so he knows what to work on and he doesn’t cut any corners. When you have a leader doing that, then the others don’t cut corners, either. In center he takes away so many singles and gap shots that would be extra bases. On the mound, he did what was asked of him and competed well for us. As a team we like to create pressure for the other team, and I can’t think of a better way than to have the state’s stolen base leader at the top of the lineup.”

Luther summarized Gabe Funk in another way, unrelated to skills on the playing field.

“Gabe Funk is just a Grade A elite human being,” Luther said. “He’s never in a bad mood, always talking to the young kids. He’s just somebody you want to be around.”

Funk said he has always appreciated the winning culture at Lenox, and the deep talent pool in the school during his time there.

“I was very blessed to come through when I did,” Funk said. “I’ve had great athletes in my class, and those above and below us. Great coaches, too. It’s been so much fun.”