Josh Melu finds his stride as a Gator
Published 12:10 pm Thursday, April 26, 2012
Josh Melu has always been athletically gifted.
As a three-sport athlete at Auburn Mountainview High School, Melu admits he coasted through on his athleticism. He competed in basketball and football and earned a 10th-place finish in the long jump as a senior at the 2010 Washington State 3A Track and Field Championships.
It wasn’t until he started his collegiate track career at Green River Community College last season, however, that he found his recipe for success.
“The main difference – and it may be surprising – but it’s been my mindset,” Melu said. “I’ve completely changed my mindset. In high school I had some physical abilities, but I didn’t have the proper mindset. Half of what I do is mental. It’s half physical and half mental. And if you don’t have the mental part down, you’re not going to be as great as you could be.”
This past weekend in Eugene, Ore., Melu took a step towards reaching his full potential by placing third in the triple jump at the prestigious Oregon Relays with a 48 feet, 1/4 inch mark. The leap, a personal best for Melu, also set a new Green River record.
“It was a good experience. It’s nice to go into a meet and compete against guys that are at a level I want to be at,” Melu said. “And for me to place third was really a big accomplishment for me because the only guys that beat me were the two University of Oregon guys. It just felt good to be up there with them. And it shows that I can compete with them.”
And with just three meets left in his career as a Gator, Melu hopes he’ll be able to step up to the next level next year and catch on with a four-year Division I school.
Fresh out of high school, Melu was not highly recruited.
Convinced that his competitive track career was over after graduation, he enrolled at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Wash.
A call from a former Auburn Mountainview track coach, Tori Ammons, however, put him back in the game.
Ammons said she was putting together a track and field team for Green River, which hadn’t fielded a team since 1992, and she asked Melu if he would like to join.
In his freshman year as a Gator Melu earned his way to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges championship where, where he placed second in the triple jump and 10th in the long jump.
Despite his success on the track with Green River, however, Melu said he still isn’t attracting much attention from the D-I schools.
“I’ve got a bit of interest from Oregon and Washington State, but the only offer I’ve got is for St. Martin’s,” he said. “But that kind of drives me. I know I could be really great, but I have to prove to these guys what I can do. I have to prove my potential.”
And for Melu that potential is vast. Despite the success he’s achieved so far, Melu said, he’s never really had a jumps coach.
“I’m kind of coaching myself,” he said. “I do a lot of research, I’m always on the computer or asking friends if they have books on jumping,” he said. “After my four classes I’m on YouTube and watching videos all the time. I’m really trying to get as much information about the sport that I can. So that it will help me out.”
So will catching on with a D-I school, which Melu said he has every intention of doing.
“I have really big dreams and goals,” he said. “I know I can compete in the Pac 12, so I think I’m going to try to go to Oregon next year and see what I can do there. I might as well take a risk.”
As big as his goal of competing in the Pac 12 is, it’s not the ultimate goal for Melu, who has his sights set even higher.
“I’m a Zambian, I was born in Zambia and have Zambian citizenship,” he said. “One of my ultimate track goals is to compete for the Zambian Olympic team. The Zambian triple jump record is 51 feet, so I’m striving to break that record. If not this year, I’ll get it next year.”
