Budwig, the national prep leader in the discus throw, will be joined at the annual meet for the first time by older sister Jayme, who is competing in the hammer throw for Fresno State 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Whether it’s back-to-back Budwig siblings throwing, or a double dose of national prep outdoor leader Jocelynn Budwig in the ring, either way, it has the potential to be a special Saturday for parents Jeff and Jayleen Budwig at the 44th Stanford Track and Field Invitational at Cobb Track and Angell Field.

Jayme Budwig, a junior at Fresno State, will have the opportunity to throw at the same meet as Auburn-bound sister Jocelynn, a senior at Fowler CA, for the first time since they were high school teammates in 2016.

Jayme is scheduled to compete in the women’s hammer throw at 10 a.m. PDT Saturday, followed by Jocelynn in the girls discus throw at 11 a.m. and then the shot put at 1 p.m.

“For me, I am extremely excited for Jayme and I to be together this weekend because she is my number one fan and I am hers,” said Jocelynn, who produced the top mark in the country this season with 171-7 in the discus throw (52.29m) and No. 2 in the shot put at 47 feet, 4.25 inches (14.43m) on March 15 at the Gateway to Track and Field Invitational.

“It is nice to be able to be there for her as she is for me.”

Jayleen is the head coach at Fowler High and Jeff is the Redcats’ throws coach, so their weekends in the spring are primarily spent at high school meets, which means limited opportunities to watch Jayme compete at collegiate events.

“My parents are super stoked for us to be competing at the same place this weekend,” Jocelynn said. “With both of my parents being coaches, their schedules are hectic and do not get the opportunity to go watch my sister compete, especially as most of her meets are out of state. This is a great opportunity for them to watch her compete and be there supporting her in person.”

Jocelynn has been a regular competitor in the high school throwing events at Stanford during her prep career, winning the discus last season with a throw of 162-6 (49.52m) and placing second in the shot put with a mark of 44-6.25 (13.57m).

She hasn’t lost since in the shot put, becoming the first female athlete in Fowler history to capture a California state championship in June and building a streak of 18 consecutive victories overall, including a West Sequoia League meet Wednesday where she swept the shot put and discus with marks of 46-2 (14.07m) and 156-1 (47.57m).

“Practice has been going really well and it’s nice to know that everything I’ve been doing in practice is translating over,” said Jocelynn, who has won 23 of 25 shot put competitions during the past two seasons.

“It’s just a matter of trusting the process and going out and having fun with it.”

Although Jocelynn doesn’t arrive in Palo Alto with as lofty a winning streak in the discus, her victory at last year’s meet was among 22 in her past 24 outings, which included a third-place finish at the California state final highlighted by a personal-best 174-2 (53.08m) in the prelims.

She also has a legitimate opportunity to eclipse the 2017 discus meet record of 169-10 (51.76m) set by Obi Amaechi of San Francisco Lincoln, now a sophomore at Princeton.

The shot put meet record of 49-4 (15.03m) held by Laguna Creek’s Jessica Pressley since 2003, when she went on to secure the state title with a mark of 50-5 (15.36m), might be a little bit more challenging to take down, although Jocelynn has produced multiple fouls of at least 49 feet in the past three weeks.

“It’s very comforting to know that it’s there because I know I have so much more in me, but the season is still early,” Jocelynn said. “It’s just a matter of being conscious of my reverse.”

Although Stanford is the home of the reigning NCAA Division 1 women’s volleyball champions, it was a conscious decision for Jocelynn to give up playing setter for the Redcats during the fall season in order to begin training in October that has paid dividends already, as she is unbeaten with both implements in seven meets this season.

“It was a very tough decision emotionally, but I knew it was something I had to do,” said Jocelynn, who didn’t return to the volleyball team following an 8-22 season as a junior.

“I came out of last season mentally a wreck because our season wasn’t great. We definitely had a losing season and our team chemistry wasn’t there and I was in a very high-stress situation for three months.

“It affected my health a little bit, so it was a decision I had to make for myself, knowing that’s what is best for me, not only for my own health, but it was time to give it up. I’m going to Auburn in the fall and it’s time to do this, getting a little bit of a taste of what it’s going to be like in college competing or training year round.”

The ability to focus more on her throwing, in addition to confirming her decision to attend Auburn during the early signing period in November, have allowed Jocelynn to cherish her final high school season and embrace opportunities like Saturday when the whole family gets to come together.

“The pressure of the recruiting process is definitely off and I can feel that it’s off, so it’s great,” Jocelynn said. “It’s definitely taken the pressure off of competing. I used to be like, ‘I have to do really well to impress these coaches to get a scholarship.’ But now that I have my scholarship and have my papers signed, I can just go out and have fun and do what I do and there’s no pressure of texting a coach and saying, ‘This is what I did today and maybe them being disappointed in it or not what they expected.’”

The expectations have become even higher this season in California, not just for Jocelynn, but for all the Central Section female throwers, including Bakersfield Liberty sophomore Faith Bender and Buchanan senior Maren Butler, who rank third and 10th nationally in the shot put at 46-8 (14.22m) and 45-5.50 (13.85m), respectively.

“(Jocelynn) sets the standard for everyone, not only in our section, but the entire state,” said Bender, who also ranks second nationally this season in the discus at 164-2 (50.03m).

“It’s been great to be able to throw against her as much as I do, because she not only challenges me, but everyone else, to get better.”

Jocelynn will square off in the shot put against three other elite national competitors in senior Carly Watts of Terra Nova CA – No. 8 in the country at 45-6 (13.86m) – along with junior Melisa Toilolo of Merrill West CA, No. 19 at 43-11 (13.38m), and No. 26 Krissy Smoot of Belmont Notre Dame CA, a senior with a 43-4 (13.20m) personal best.

In the discus, Watts ranks No. 11 nationally at 146-7 (44.67m) and senior Morgan Johnson of Buhach Colony CA is 23rd in the country at 143-4 (43.68m).

“I think it’s great having the competition around me that I do, not only do they push me to do better, but we’re all very supportive of each other,” Jocelynn said. “We want each other to throw our best that day because we want to beat one another outright knowing that. We don’t want to beat someone because they had an off day.”

If Jocelynn can prevail in both competitions Saturday at Stanford, then even bigger challenges await April 6 at the 52nd Arcadia Invitational against West Ranch CA senior Natalie Ramirez and a field of national competitors.

Ramirez took over the national outdoor lead in the shot put Thursday at 47-5.25 (14.45m) and ranks third in the discus at 163-2 (49.73m).

“I feel like this early in the season, people might think, ‘Oh, she’s peaking.’ I’m not peaking, none of us are peaking and everyone is killing it right now and that’s amazing. We’re all right on the right path, so it’s good,” Ramirez said. “Being able to compete with (Jocelynn and Faith) as a thrower is amazing and I’m so lucky to be able to do that with all of them.”

Jocelynn considers herself fortunate to be healthy and competing at a consistently high level entering the most important stretch of meets during the regular season. But she is most grateful for the opportunity to have her final high school appearance at the Stanford Invitational be a family affair.

“I’m extremely happy that our competitions (Saturday) are at different times,” Jocelynn said. “It makes it nice for all of us.”