Fuller sweeps, leads King’s to state 1A title

By Tony Dondero

Enterprise reporter

TACOMA

As the saying goes, good things come in threes, and that was the case for King’s standout Josh Fuller.

After Fuller’s victory in the 100 meters at the state Class 1A track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High School May 26, the sophomore believed he could pull off the feat of the meet.

“I figured if I got first in the 100 I could take a 1-2-3 triple,” he said.

Fuller went on to add victories in the 200 and 400 meters and ran the anchor leg of the Knights’ winning 1,600 relay. Four events produced four first-place medals for Fuller, an accomplishment unmatched by the boys of 1A who competed on the sun-soaked track.

“To do that as a sophomore is unheard of,” King’s head track coach Daunte Gouge said.

The most surprising race for Fuller was the 100 final, which he won with a time of 11.44 seconds, edging Chewelah’s Mike Day by two-hundredths of a second. After the race was restarted because of a false start, Fuller didn’t get out to an exceptional start and was fourth or fifth midway through the race.

Then he turned it on the last 20 meters.

“The ending was really good,” he said. “I finish better than I start. I was expecting to place in the top three.”

Fuller won the 400 in 50.06 and the 200 in 22.87.

Last year at the 2A meet, Fuller only medaled in the 1,600 relay, which was sixth. As an individual he finished ninth in his best event, the 400.

So what was the difference?

Two words. Offseason training.

Fuller ran five days a week and lifted weights five or six days a week under the supervision of King’s cross country and track assistant Rod Wilcox. He worked on his legs and upper body and ran a lot of hills.

“It helped a ton, really focused in on this season,” Fuller said.

Fuller also credited the training regimen supplied by sprints coach Ben Blackmer.

“This is probably the fastest we’ve ever been at sprinting,” Fuller said.

Some of Fuller’s talent might come from his parents, particularly his mother, Kiyoko, who long jumped in the Tokyo City Championships while she was in high school. Fuller was born here, but his parents met in Japan while his dad, Steven, was in the Navy. His mom is Korean but her family had lived in Japan for several generations. Fuller said his family speaks Japanese and goes to Japan during the summertime, as well as France where he also has family.

Fuller swept the sprints for the first time in King’s school history. King’s head football coach Jim Shapiro came close in 1990, but finished second in the 200.

Gouge recalled that Fuller, who has attended King’s since kindergarten, once ran into a wall during elementary P.E. because he wanted to run so fast.

Fuller enjoyed his moment in the spotlight, but he knows he can do even better.

“I hope I improve,” he said. “I’ll train just as hard as I did if not more. It’s a good basis to work off of. I’ll try to come back next year and do well too.”