Kaden Funk is now on equal ground with his siblings.
The Olympia sophomore added to his family’s collection of gold medals by winning the 4A singles tennis championship last week.
Funk’s older sister Kali helped First Academy volleyball to four consecutive state titles while Steyn won back-to-back individual swimming championships.
“My brother and sister both won one before so I kind of felt like I was in time to get one and I did," Kaden said. "Now they have nothing against me.”
Funk survived several marathon matches during the state tournament and dropped the first set of the championship match before rallying for a three set win.
“My matches were really long,” Funk said. “Some of the guys I played were older so I had to take their power and give it back to them so I had to run down a lot of balls and be there for every shot.”
Funk finished the season undefeated in singles and paired with Asvin Singh to reach the state tournament in doubles.
“He’s been there for the team, himself, for his program and winning a state championship is really big for our school,” James said. “He has a lot of pride, determination and he’s a great leader on the court.”
While many elite tennis players pass on the opportunity to play for their high school, Funk embraces representing Olympia.
“It’s something bigger than myself,” Funk said. “If you win a state championship, people remember that and people know that and at the end of the day you can tell people, I was a state champion.”