By Linden Moore
Washington’s Carson Fuller wasn’t feeling like his normal self when he entered Saturday’s Pac-12 Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field. The fifth-year senior came into his event with soreness in his throwing arm, elbow and back.
“In all honesty, I didn’t feel so hot today,” Fuller said. “But that’s the life of javelin.”
Injuries set aside, Fuller threw a personal record of 244 feet, winning the Pac-12 men’s javelin title, beating the defending champion, Oregon’s Cody Danielson by just over five feet. The victory leaves Fuller, who was sidelined for much of the indoor winter season with a torn labrum in his throwing arm, feeling more accomplished after missing part of the outdoor season, too.
“At the beginning of the season, I didn’t think I was going to be able to compete,” he said. “I’m happy to be out here and PR-ing on a day like this.”
Fuller has only been throwing for about a month since making his debut in mid-April at the Beach Invitational, where he threw 204-3. Leading up to that, he worked on stamina during his two-month recovery so he could get back to throwing.
“I guess that’s what competing takes,” he said. “You have to filter everything out and trust yourself, your training and all the work you put in.”
Fuller’s victory also marked the end of Oregon thrower Cody Danielson’s quest for a second straight conference title. Coincidentally, this marked two years in a row that one beat the other at the other’s home track.
“It’s funny because he tore his labrum last year at Pac 12s, and beat me at home and this year I tore my labrum and beat him here,” he said. “Cody’s a great thrower, we’ve been competing for years now and he delivered today so I knew I needed to deliver as well.”
To top off his comeback victory, Fuller felt at home competing in Oregon after having thrown at Hayward in his past four seasons in a Husky uniform.
“This is awesome to be here in Eugene, this feels like a home track to me,” he said. “I feel like I’ve competed here way more than UW.”
At the end of the day, Fuller hopes he made his mark on Washington’s program with a long history of javelin throwers. “I’ve had the opportunity to be mentored by all of them,” he said. “I hope I made the long history of javelin throwers proud.”
Coming in second was the defending Pac-12 champion Cody Danielson, and while it wasn’t the finish the Oregon redshirt senior had in mind, he felt that he had a good overall series. His second-place throw was 238-11, and none of his throws were shorter than 224 feet.
“I would’ve loved to get another win, but that was the best series I’ve thrown all year by far,” Danielson said. “As much as I would’ve loved to win, I’m glad Carson got it.”
