Gallaudet University

By the time he graduated from Gallaudet in 1957 he won two Mason-Dixon Conference cross country championship (1954 and 1955). He finished runner ups in 1956 despite not feeling well and running sick all the way to the finish line. Making up in track and field for his runner up finish in cross country Kugel won the 1957 Mason-Dixon Conference championship in the two-mile run. In these days Mason-Dixon was probably one of the toughest small college conferences in the nation, comprising of Catholic, Mt. St. Mary's, Bridgewater, Randolph-Macon, Loyola, Towson, American among others. Bridgewater sent two of their better athletes to the Olympics - which is an indication of the high level of competition that Kugel had to face. And some of these school eventually moved up to the NCAA Division I level.

Kugel stands as the only Gallaudet trackster to have won distance championship in both track and cross country, and this is the reason why he was easily voted into the Gallaudet Athletics Hall of Fame. His biggest feat, however, took place in the 1957 World Games for the Deaf in Milan, Italy. Even though Kugel did not win a gold medal in the 10,000 meter run, picking up just a bronze, he was considered a winner by those that observed the race.

Did you know:
He was named to the USA Deaf Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2000.

Died: March 29, 2013