THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Saturday, May 14, 2016

At this time last year, Lake City High junior Jocie Osika had what she’d define as a meltdown at the Region 1 championships, costing her a trip to the state meet in Boise.

She didn’t let that happen twice.

BACK FOR her junior year, Osika has won the discus in six of eight meets entered, including winning a regional title by 7 feet on Thursday afternoon at Coeur d’Alene High with a throw of 131 feet, 1 inch.

“It’s not so much pressure and the competition,” Osika said. “I’m a perfectionist, so I put a lot of pressure on myself during meets. That’s what makes it fun, I guess.”

Her mark of 131-4 — the highest in the 5A classification — at the District 1 All-Star meet on May 5, was 10 feet further than her closest competitor in the discus. She was also fourth at the Pasco Invitational on April 16 and second at the Lake City Invitational on April 29.

“I don’t think I’ve seen an athlete that’s worked as hard as Jocie this year,” Lake City coach Kelly Reed said. “Through the weight room, her throws practices and just everything she does. She’s been focused on regionals, and the state meet all year. And it’s good to see all that hard work pay off for those kind of kids. It was really fun to see her have that success today. She was disappointed in how she did last year. Unfortunately, it takes a year to get back to this point. You don’t get to try again the next day. It was really fun to see her do so well today.”

While some athletes might choose to pick the brain of teammates before their throws, Osika takes a different approach.

“Honestly, I’ve usually got to go sit in a corner by myself and concentrate really hard on what I’m about to do,” Osika said. “It’s a weird thing, because you have to not think at all when you throw, but at the same time, really concentrate. It’s a really weird zone to be in.”

During regionals in 2015, Osika finished 12th in the discus.

“I was so stressed out last year (at regionals),” Osika said. “And because that’s a big thing with me, I didn’t handle it very well. Even though I was ranked first here, and sixth in the state, I didn’t get to go to state. And it was pretty crushing to me. That’s why I worked so hard over the last year.”

ON THURSDAY, that worked paid off for not only Osika, but the entire Lake City throwing program, which swept the top three spots to state with Ali Carlson finishing second and Keara Simpson third.

“It’s really nice to have them as teammates,” Osika said. “There’s really nobody else I’d rather have right behind me like that. Even if I lose, it’s still a win because the team still wins.”

Osika was fourth in the shot put, but could still advance to state if her mark of 34-6 1/2 is good enough to receive a wild card to state.

“For Jocie, she just stays focused and does what she does,” Reed said. “She’s put in the work for the last 12 months. Now she’s got to go and reap the rewards of that, which if things go well, she’s got a great job to win the whole thing.”

As if the stress of regionals and state wasn’t enough, Osika was taking Advanced Placement tests to prepare for her senior year.

“I just really want to go to a good college,” Osika said. “Because I do a lot of academic stuff, that’s really my priority. But I definitely want to keep throwing too.”

Osika is currently ranked in the top five in the Class of 2018 with a 4.36 grade point average.

“I think I did very well today handling the stress,” Osika said Thursday. “Obviously, it was really scary coming into the same situation. But I’m proud of myself and how I handled it.”

As far as the state meet goes?

“I kind of leave her alone,” Reed said. “Especially at meets, and just let her do her thing. I don’t know if she’s capable of relaxing at state. But she’ll be in the moment. She’ll be ready to go. She’s not afraid of it, that’s for sure.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.