Clark College Athletics

George Fullerton – Head Coach, Track & Field 1959 – 1989

George Simmons Fullerton’s career interest in athletics began his junior year at Ashland High in southern Oregon where, at the 1946 state meet, he broke a 34 year old Oregon mark in the mile and took first in the 800 meters. He followed up two weeks later with another record in the mile taking down the interscholastic mark set 12 years earlier by Louis Zamperini in Torrence, Ca.
On June 3, 1946, George Fullerton, then 17 years old and a runner at Ashland High, ran in a mile race at a high school track in Portland, Oregon which included high school and college runners.  He finished in 2^nd place with a time of 4:20.05, closely behind an elite runner from Oregon State College (University).  Fullerton’s time was the unofficial fastest mile ever run by a high school student.  And that is just one of the many races that he excelled in.  His running performances allowed him many offers of college scholarships and he ended up at Oregon State University.
A foot injury ended Fullerton’s racing career as a freshman at Oregon State University, but he went on to earn a degree in human biology.  He joined the Army and helped rebuild infrastructure in Germany, following World War II.  He then returned home to teach physical education.  Once back in Vancouver, Fullerton was recruited by Hudson Bay to coach football, but instead he landed at Vancouver High with openings in track and wrestling.  Successful in the classroom and with the athletes, George was soon offered the head track and field and wrestling coach positions for the Clark College Penguins.  Under Fullerton, Clark took three Track and Field Championships between 1960 and 1962.
One of Fullerton’s first runners at Clark was Mike Gaechter, a sprinter who also played football at Clark and went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys.
Fullerton attributes Gaechter to showing him a technique that he called a hip roll while running. The trick is to rock the pelvis backward—as if pressing the lower spine against the back of a chair. This shift enables runners to lift their legs higher and lengthen their strides.  Fullerton coached all of his runners to run naturally around the short, curved parts of the track, and then roll their hips on the straightaway.  And it paid off… Clark runners won numerous races.
Fullerton claims that some of his success came from listening to others, most specifically his athletes.  He went to the Oregon and Washington high school championships every year to recruit and would seek out those who did well in their specific event.  “I would get average kids and make them a lot better because of what I learned from the other kids,” Fullerton said.
Many of his students left Clark College to join the venerated track and field team at the University of Oregon, as well as other prestigious running programs.


State Championships during George Fullerton’s coaching career at Clark

                CHAMPION                        Runner-Up
1960       Clark      (68 pts)                 Everett (36 pts)
1961       Clark      (92 pts)                 Yakima Valley (90 pts)
1962       Clark      (139 pts)              Columbia Basin (65 pts)
1963       Yakima Valley (67 pts)    Clark  (63 pts)
 
1960 Championships           (Hudson’s Bay HS, Vancouver, WA – May 21)
1^st – CLARK                           68 points                                               1^st place finishers for Clark College
2^nd - EVERETT                         36                                                           100 meter - Mike Gaechter  :09.7
3^rd - COLUMBIA BASIN         21 1/3                                                    880 yards - Dick Winter      2:01.0
4^th - YAKIMA VALLEY            20                                                           120 High Hurdles - Mike Gaechter  :15.2
5^th - SKAGIT VALLEY               8                                                            BJump - Mike Gaechter      23’ 5/8”
6^th - LOWER COLUMBIA        5 1/3                                                    Discus - Wayne Ficken        151’0”
7^th - WENATCHEE VLY            4 1/3                                                    Javelin - Dale Rohrbaugh  173’1”
8^th - CENTRALIA                      2                                                            Pole Vault - Dick Snyder  12’ 9 1/4”
 
1961 Championships               (Eisenhower HS, Yakima, WA – May 20)
1^st  - CLARK                            92 points                                               1^st place finishers for Clark College
2^nd - YAKIMA VALLEY           90                                                           Mile -Terry Ramberg           4:28.5
3^rd - COLUMBIA BASIN         81                                                           2 Mile -Terry Ramberg        10:08.6
4^th - EVERETT                         49                                                           120 High Hurdles - Jim McAbee :15.2
5^th - OLYMPIC                        18                                                           220 Low Hurdles - Jim McAbee  :25.3
6^th - CENTRALIA                      7                                                            Shot Put - Bill Swain             51’ 4 1/2”
7^th - GRAYS HARBOR              4                                                            Pole Vault - Dick Snyder     13’ 1 1/2”
8^th - SKAGIT VALLEY               2
9^th - WENATCHEE VLY            2
 
1962 Championships           (Fort Lewis HS, Fort Lewis, WA – May 26)
1^st – CLARK                            139                                                         1^st place finishers for Clark College
2^nd - COLUMBIA BASIN        65 11/21                                               440 yards - Larry Otos        :49.4
3^rd - OLYMPIC                        63                                                           880 yards - Chuck Wells   1:59.5
4^th - YAKIMA VALLEY            51 16/21                                               Mile - Morgan Groth        4:22.1
5^th - EVERETT                         12 3/7                                                    Javelin - Wayne Martin    188’ 1”
6^th - WENATCHEE VLY          12 3/7                                                    Pole Vault - Keith Hopkins, LeRoy Boyer, Willie Nettles 13’ 5 ½“
7^th - SKAGIT VALLEY               6 3/7                                                    440 Relay -Larry Otos, Wayne Martin, Jim McAbee, Dennis Moore :43.7
8^th - CENTRALIA                      6                                                            Mile Relay -Dennis Hughes, Chuck Wells, Larry Otos, Jim McAbee  3:26.6
9^th - LOWER COLUMBIA        5 3/7
10^th - GRAYS HARBOR            4
11^th - HIGHLINE                       2