2008 CHAMPS

The official King's Track website. Stats and Pictures are welcome if sent to rwadew@verizon.net 

For complete recent and archival King's stats go to  ATHLETIC.NET

Head Track Coach Daunte Gouge has been named the National Federation of High School Association’s Washington State Coach of the Year for Track and Field. This is a prestigious honor for obvious reasons, but also because it qualifies Daunte for National Coach of the Year consideration.  Congratulations and a huge thank you to Daunte for his tireless efforts at building a great track program while showing unconditional love and support to our student-athletes!  

2009 - King's boys repeat as track champs

Fuller wins 100, 200 and 400, as Knights win third straight title

By David Pan Enterprise sports editor

The King's boys track team came into last weekend's Class 1A state track and field championships with high expectations.

Led by senior standout Josh Fuller, the Knights lived up to those expectations by winning their third straight title May 30 at Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

King's scored 92 points to finish well ahead of Cashmere (66) and Charles Wright (65).

"We thought that if we could go and perform at a high level we could get it for a third straight time," King's coach Daunte Gouge said.

Of course, it helps to have an athlete such as Fuller, who won the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races, as well as helping the 1,600 relay team to a third place finish.

Fuller finished the 100 in 11.28 seconds, the 200 in 22.32 and the 400 in 49.19.

"It was a great feeling," Fuller said of helping the Knights win another state championship. "Everyone performed how we needed them to in order to win a state title again."

The finals on Saturday were run into a little bit of a headwind so the times didn't necessarily reflect how well the races went for the Yale-bound Fuller.

"I nailed every single part of my race," Fuller said of the 100. "I felt like I ran a great race."

The 200 and 400 races also pretty much went as well.

"It was a great weekend," Fuller said.

Fuller is the type of athlete coaches wish they had on their teams, Gouge said. "He goes out and works hard. It's a huge loss to our track program."

Fuller appreciated his time with the Knights.

"We have a great coaching staff. We had great people," he said. "I've really been blessed to be here."

Fuller wasn't the only King's athletes to place in multiple events. Curtis Clauson shook off the disappointment of not advancing to the finals of the triple by winning the javelin (187 feet, 7 inches) and the 300 hurdles (39.14) and taking second in the 110 hurdles (15.49). The latter is a personal record and his time in the 300 hurdles tied a school record.

Clauson was sitting in second place in the javelin when he unleashed his best throw of the meet to pull out the victory. The throw is the second best in school history.

"He was really excited," Gouge said. "He likes to perform on the big stage. He's a competitor."

Other placers included Brandon Dean (third in 300 hurdles), Kyle Talbot (third in high jump), Raymond Zhang (sixth in 110 hurdles), Billy Martin (fifth in discus, eighth in javelin) and Jean Blatchford (sixth in pole vault). King's 400 relay team was fourth.

"It was a pretty good meet across the board," Gouge said.

In the girls meet, senior Olivia Thomas closed out her high school career with a pair of second place finishes in the 800 and 1,600 and first-place finish in the 1,600 relay along with teammates Caitlin Fransen, Stephanie Rice and Karlie Storkson.

"Olivia really had some really tough competition this year," Gouge said. "She ran an amazing 400 leg after the day she had competing. Being able to PR her split in the 4 by 4 relay to bring us back for the win was more impressive than the other two races she had."

The Knights finished fourth overall in the team competition. Point scorers included Stephanie Rice (fifth in the 800), Adele Eslinger (fifth in 3,200), Morgan Hamm (eighth in 3,200) and the 800 relay team (fifth).

Both Thomas and Fuller leave significant leadership voids for King's.

"Olivia and Josh are two tough people to lose both in athletic ability and even more so in their leadership," Gouge said. "They're both just great team leaders and teammates for those kids."

King's dominates Class 1A district track meet

Herald staff      - SHORELINE -- The King's boys track and field team won state the past two years and three of the past four, and its looking like three in a row is within reach.

The King's boys crushed the field scoring 158 team points, 65 ahead of second place Charles Wright Academy and had multiple state qualifiers Saturday at the 1A Tri-District meet at King's high school. King's, along with the other boys teams of Charles Wright Academy, Bellevue Christian, Cedar Park Christian, Lynden Christian, and Meridian will all be invited to state, held at Eastern Washington University this Saturday.

"It looks like King's boys team will have a good chance to win again this year," King's head coach Daunte Gouge said. "Traditionally, if you place well in this Tri-District, you will do well in state."

King's Josh Fuller won the 100 meter (11.05 seconds), 200 meter (22.43), 400 meter (49.91), and was the anchor of the winning 1,600 meter relay (3:30.51) team. Last year, Fuller won the 100, 200, and 400 meter state events.

Gouge said the best race on the boys side was the 1,600 meters, where seven runners qualified for state, running times under four minutes, 35 seconds. The top five finishers all ran times under 4:26. Coupeville's Tyler King finished third in the event at 4:24.50.

"It was a great race from start to finish, easily all those guys will be fighting for a title," King's head coach Daunte Gouge said. "It was just an awesome day, weather and all and the competition was amazing."

King's Kyle Talbot set a meet record in the high jump, clearing the bar at six feet, four inches. The Knights' Curtis Clauson broke the old meet record of 39.9 seconds in the 300 meter hurdles with a time of 39.51.

The Knights girls team also dominated, scoring 125 points. Bellevue Christian (100), Meridian (58), Seattle Academy (57), and Nooksack Valley (55) also punched their tickets to state.

The girls 200 meter race was a spectacle, as the top five finishers were within four-tenths of a second of each other. Li Murphy (26.56 seconds) of Annie Wright finished ahead of Seattle Christian's Lexi Petersen (26.76) and Meridian's Alicia Wolf (26.84).

The Knights' Olivia Thomas won the 800 meter race in 2:18.47, and placed second in the 1,600 meter at 5:00.34.

At King's H.S.  - Top five in each event to state

Boys

Team scores--1. King's 158, 13. Coupeville 14

110 hurdles--1. Curtis Clauson (K) 15.59, 2. Raymond Zhang (K) 15.66

100--1. Josh Fuller (K) 11.05, 2. Jean Blatchford (K) 11.44

1,600--3. Tyler King (C) 4:24.50

400 relay--3. King's 44.57

400--1. Josh Fuller (K) 49.91

300 hurdles--1. Curtis Clauson (K) 39.51, 5. Brandon Dean (K) 41.85

800--4. Nate Faubion (K) 2:00.96

200--1. Josh Fuller (K) 22.43

3,200--2. Tyler King (C) 9:43.09

1,600 relay--1. King's 3:30.51

High jump--1. Kyle Talbot (K) 6-4

Long jump--Graham Threlkeld-Guy (Northwest) 21-5

Triple jump--4. Curtis Clauson (K) 42-2.5

Shot put--3. Billy Martin (K) 46-6.5

Discus--1. Billy Martin (K) 143-0

Javelin--1. Curtis Clauson (K) 168.03, 3. Billy Martin (K) 165-10, 4. Slater Hirst (K) 163-10

Pole vault--3. Jean Blarchford (K) 12-0

Girls

Team scores--1. King's 125, T15. Coupeville 10

100 hurdles--4. Andi Nelson (K) 17.01

100--Alicia Wolf (Meridian) 13.11

1,600--2. Olivia Thomas (K) 5:00.34

400 relay--Charles Wright Academy 51.14

400--Li Murphy (Annie Wright) 1:00.33

300 hurdles--Terra Oldham (Bellevue Christian) 47.88

800--1. Olivia Thomas (K) 2:18.47, 3. Stephanie Rice (K) 2:25.87, 5. Sami McDevitt (K) 2:28.35

200--Li Murphy (Annie Wright) 26.56

3,200--3. Adele Eslinger (K) 11:48.18, 5. Morgan Hamm (K) 12:17.62

800 relay-- 1. King's 1:47.27

1,600 relay--1. King's 4:06.83

High jump--T1. Alex Ballanger (K) 5-0, T4. Jerica Englehart (K) 4-8

Long jump--Hannah Velling (Cascade Christian) 16-4.75

Triple jump--MacKenzie Altig (Bellevue Christian) 35-4

Shot put--Danelle Himango (Nooksack Valley) 37-0

Discus--Nia Tauvela (Orting) 118-9

Javelin--1. Kyra Ilyankoff (C) 122-8

Pole vault--2. Sarah Blatchford (K) 9-6, 3. Jerica Engelhart (K) 9-0, 4. Anna Dean (K) 8-6

Work ethic takes King's duo to Ivy League

By Alex Bosworth For the Enterprise

In the world of high school track, Josh Fuller and Olivia Thomas are about as close as it comes to royalty.

Last year the duo from King's High School combined to win an almost embarrassing amount of events at the 1A State competition at Mount Tahoma Stadium.

Thomas won the girls' 800 meter race, the 1600 meter race, and competed on King's first-place 1600 meter relay team, which tied the state record for fastest time ever by finishing in four minutes, 2.95 seconds.

"In practice she usually races the guys" assistant track coach Rod Wilcox said of Thomas. "They hate it when she beats them – and she does."

Fuller, on the other hand, has won more state titles than anyone in the school's history by focusing on sprinting events. Last year he competed on the boys' first-place 1600 and 400 relay teams and won the 400 meter race. The year before, as a sophomore, Fuller won the 100 meter, 200 meter, 400 meter, and the 1600 meter relay at state.

"(Josh) takes care of every minor detail," Wilcox explained. "Whether it's getting in an extra workout in December or half-hour workout between events ... If you want to be good, do what Josh does."

Together, the two seniors have set the pace for King's track over the past four years. In 2008, the girls won their league and the Tri-District Tournament and placed fourth at state. The boys won their league, the Tri-District Tournament and won state for the second year in a row.

But track might not even be Fuller and Thomas' most impressive accomplishment.

Next year Thomas will attend Brown. Fuller will attend Yale.

Between all the training and the events, the two found the time to keep their grades up. Now they'll be attending two of the most prestigious universities in the country.

"It's definitely been difficult," Thomas said of balancing athletics and academics. "I don't get a lot of alone or free time … you can't procrastinate … I'm somewhat of a perfectionist."

"King's has taught us to think for ourselves," Fuller added. "Most students here do care … the grades are just kind of a by-product."

Their teammates are keeping up with them. A visitor to the high school's website will find, highlighted in bold, that both the King's girls and King's boys track teams won the state academic championship last year.

In other words, King's cares about winning, but it is also important to win the right way.

"As much success as we've had," Wilcox said, "We place even more emphasis on academics."

King's coaches get constant updates on how their athletes are doing in the classroom, Wilcox explained, and if they find out someone's grades are dropping, "We have a little talk with them."

"King's is a really challenging school – you get hours of homework every night," Thomas said, "… (But) the teachers really care about you."

The challenge has certainly paid off for King's top two track athletes.

Next year Thomas is interested in majoring in biology. Fuller doesn't know what he wants to focus on yet.

Both plan to run for their school's track teams, and say how they got along with the team played a role in their decision on where to go.

Thomas, the 2007 1A state champion in cross country, will also run for Brown's cross country team, though she plans to focus on track.

Already this year, Thomas has posted top 10 1A state times in the 200, 400, 800 and 1600 meter according to atheletic.net. Fuller has posted the top 1A time in the 200 and 400 meter races.

No doubt they're off to a solid start on the track. But they're going to be there as models in the classroom as well.

"The sport comes down to work ethic," Wilcox said of Fuller and Thomas' success. "Once they learn discipline, it applies to academics as well."

Knights take boys girls titles

By David Pan  Enterprise Sports editor

If the King's Invitational is a preview of the upcoming tri-district and state track and field championships, then the Knights should be encouraged.

King's swept both the boys and girls titles with a number of stellar individual and relay performances. In the girls competition, the Knights scored 121 points, just ahead of Bellevue Christian, who tallied 106. The King's boys had a little easier time, outdistancing Riverside Christian 111-73.

Knights coach Daunte Gouge appreciated that his teams were able to measure themselves against some top flight competition. Almost every event had athletes whose performances that were among the meet's all-time top 10.

A strong freshman class along with senior standout and defending state 800- and 1,600-meter champion Olivia Thomas were critical to King's taking the girls title.

Thomas won the 800 (2:17.87) and the 1,600 (5;13.09) and also ran on the winning 800 and 1,600 relay teams. Her time in the 800 was a meet record.

"That was kind of one of my goals going into the meet," Thomas said.

Thomas was especially pleased with the two relays and how her freshman teammates performed.

The two relay squads included Caitlin Fransen, Karlie Storkson and Sami McDevitt, all freshmen. The Knights finished in 1:49.84 in the 800 relay and 4:09.18 in the 1,600 relay.

"In the girls 4 by 4 we were one second from our time last year here at the King's Invitational," Thomas said. "That was surprising. It was three new girls. The team that we had last year we had for three years. So it was a really big transition and that was exciting to run a really good time."

Added Gouge, "That group of freshmen girls is really tough."

King's junior Adele Eslinger won the 3,200 in 11:52.98 and junior Sarah Blatchford finished first in the pole vault with an 8 feet, 8 inch mark. Sophomore Alex Ballenger had a pair of second-place finishes in the high jump (5 feet) and the discus (100-7).

Thomas hasn't yet gone for what she describes as a "super amazing time" but is satisfied with what she's been running.

"I've been really working on my speed," she said. "I've gotten the times in the shorter events that I've wanted to get. I guess I'm where I want to be right now. When it comes down to state, I know I can be a good competitor."

The same should be said of senior Josh Fuller, who swept the boys 100 (11.31), 200 (22.89) and 400 (49.7).

"I'm happy with them (times)," Fuller said. "I know that they're going to get a lot faster."

As the competition becomes tougher, Fuller expects his times will start to drop. He is happy with the way his senior season has gone, especially since he's been able to run throughout the season.

"Last year was injury prone," Fuller said. "I raced a ton more than last year. For that I'm thankful."

His goals in the next couple of weeks include breaking 11 seconds in the 100, go under 50 second in the 400 and try to run his fastest time in the 200.

"We're just really loaded this year," Gouge said of King's boys team. "We're enjoying another season with these guys like Fuller ... So long as we stay pretty healthy. I think we should be on a nice run. We're going to try and trophy again at state."

Sophomore Curtis Clauson won the javelin with a throw of 163 feet. He placed third (41-5) in the triple jump and was sixth (43.08) in the 300 hurdles. Clauson was 11th (18-10.5) in the long jump.

"He's been battling with a little bit of a hamstring injury," Gouge said. "We've been tinkering with some of his events. ... To be able to throw 160 with that bad hamstring was a real success. He kind of powered through his other events. We're just trying to get him healthy.

"If we get him healthy, we'll probably see him pushing 180 in the javelin and then we have to decide what events we're going to put him in for districts and state. He's good in both hurdles, both jumps and the javelin. The javelin is probably his only event for sure."

King's 1,600 relay team of Nate Faubio, Zack Berg, Fuller and Alex Masaki finished second (3:33.68). Senior John Burley was second (21-1.25) in the long jump.