Alex Collatz has been willing and able to cram just about anything into her still-blossoming athletic career, but she found herself in a unique position entering her junior track and field season at Stockdale.

Collatz, owner of a national discus championship and a runner-up at an international youth meet, still hadn't won a CIF state title in the event.

That unique circumstance, of course, was due to the presence of Shafter's Anna Jelmini, the all-time high school leader in the event, who happened to live in the same area and frequented the same meets as Collatz.

But with Jelmini graduated and gone to Arizona State, Collatz found herself the state favorite -- and, thanks to a 170-foot, 9-inch throw at the state meet in Clovis earlier this month, you can consider that box checked.

You can also consider Collatz The Californian's Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

"State was important," Collatz said from a hotel room in North Carolina where she was preparing for the New Balance Nationals. "It was kind of like my one missing piece. I even had a national title before that. It's all I was thinking about the whole year; that was the title I was looking for."

That's not to take too much emphasis away from the rest of Collatz's junior year. Her longest throw was 180-9, the national record for a junior and ahead of Jelmini's pace. She also improved her consistency.

"It's never been about how far she throws," said Alan Collatz, Alex's father and the Cal State Bakersfield track coach. "Ever since she was in the fourth grade, it's been, 'Just get better.' ... The big moments, the personal bests just come when you're being consistent."

To that end, Collatz increased her average throw this year and cut down on fouls, all in the face of expectations that she would dominate the state.

"Of course, naturally, there was pressure," she said. "With Anna leaving and me trying to kind of fill her shoes, there was. I try not to think about it too much."

Her best method of distraction, she said, is to fill up meets with as many events as possible. Collatz was a state meet-caliber triple jumper (though she's missed reaching the final meet by one spot for two years running) and finished fifth in the state in the shot put after only starting the event late last spring.

Her newest toy is the high jump. Always intrigued by the event, Collatz would play with it after practices but didn't seriously pick it up until this season. By the end of the year, she had cleared 5-5 and was one of the area's best.

It's been that way her whole life. Collatz started as a soccer, volleyball and basketball player and later added swimming and track and field.

"I'm a big believer in when they're little, do as many sports as you can," Alan Collatz said. "... People have a misconception that throwers just lift and throw and eat, but all the good throwers (are) good athletes. That's a key element in success."

Collatz excelled at whatever she tried, but by the time she reached the eighth grade, it was clear she could be a high-level thrower. That year she won the USATF and AAU Junior Olympics in the discus.

That led to high school, which led to more success, and finally that state championship this year. Next are trips to the USATF Junior National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, and, most likely, the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

"I did track for fun," Collatz said. "I never go into anything expecting to win, but when I started and I was winning everything, it was like, 'This is fun.' That's something about track; you can tell when you're good, because everyone can see the marks and see you're the star."