Genung earned 3 varsity letters in football, 2 in wrestling and 2 in baseball. He was a Big 12 all-conference selection and a News Gazette and Associate Press all-state selection in football.  He was also selected to the Chicago Daily News and News Service all- downstate football team.  At 155 lbs., he was a member of Champaign High’s wrestling team that won two consecutive Big 12 and Sectional championship titles. As an outfielder on CHS’s baseball team, Genung was a member of the Big 12 and Sectional championship team that was state runner-up in 1940. Genung was the recipient of the Seeley Johnston Outstanding Athlete Runner-up Award. He wrestled his freshman year at the University of Illinois before entering the military services during WWII.