GRIFFITH | Stephanie Negrete's life is all about things coming in twos.

The junior competes in two sports for Griffith -- basketball and track & field. She competes in two events -- the shot put and the discus, and she qualified for this Saturday's state meet in both.

She splits her practice time equally between technique and strength training with two different trainers -- Griffith head coach Alex Brandon in the weight room and position coach Brian Orkis in the field.

In fact, Orkis said, the dichotomy even exists in Negrete's personality.

"That's the most important thing about Steph -- she's got two sides," Orkis said. "There's the fierce competitor and then there's regular old Steph."

Regular-old Steph is, by all accounts, smart, fun and outgoing. However, Orkis said, when it's time to get down to business, Negrete has a completely different mentality.

And the Griffith track program recognized that early. That's why Negrete began attending high school practices, as an observer, when she was in seventh grade.

"She seemed to have a pretty good ability, and you just could see that," Orkis said. "We knew she would be a pretty good thrower in the future."

That competitive streak was evident after Negrete fractured an ankle playing AAU basketball last summer. She worked her way back and missed a minimal amount of training.

"I'm not going to let anything hold me back," Negrete said.

Early in her throwing career, Brandon told Negrete that she would reach 130 feet in the discus and 40 feet in the shot put before she finished high school.

She now holds the Panther records in both with 40-3 in the shot and 133-4 in the disc.

"It feels awesome. I never thought, when I was a freshman, that I would be here," Negrete said. "I never thought I would be able to throw 130 and 40, but lo and behold, here I am."

Her work ethic has paid off in the weight room with Brandon, where she now benches 185 pounds and squats 225.

"A focal point for the future is to get her stronger so we can add more distance to what she does," Brandon said. "I can see her throwing the disc, shot and the hammer in college. That's a lot to offer to any school making her a multifaceted athlete."

When she's not lifting Negrete is watching film or practicing footwork or technique with Orkis, who threw the discus, hammer and shot at Anderson University.

"I cannot say enough good things about him, he is a technical genius," Brandon said of Orkis. "As a former thrower he has really broken down the glide and the spin for Steph and does a great deal of work with her."

Negrete credits both coaches with her current success, but says she has learned a lot about life from putting so much effort into her throws.

"I've learned that you can do whatever you can do," Negrete said. "But you have to work for everything you get and take the good with the bad."