Don’t jump to other-worldly conclusions when you notice UFOs zipping though the sky this spring.

Rather than blaming little green men, consider the more likely culprits: several area prep track and field athletes who are among the best in the state at launching orbs, discs and spears.

Julie Busch / The Herald Cascade’s Whitney Hooks won the girls Class 4A shot put title last year and placed fifth in the discus.

In the Western Conference alone, six returning boys and girls placed sixth or better in at least one throwing event at last year’s Class 4A state meet. Cascade High School track coach Bill Stengele said this year’s crop of local throwers is remarkable.

“This league is the best throwing league in the state,” he said. “To have all that talent in one conference is unbelievable.”

Throwing prowess seems to come in peaks and valleys, said Marysville-Pilchuck coach Randy Davis. This year’s group of heavers “is definitely a peak,” he said. “It seems like it’s loaded … (and) that’s great for track. I love to see that.”

Leading Wesco’s aerial assault is Cascade junior Whitney Hooks. Last year, she won the 4A state title in the shot put (46 feet, 81/2 inches) and placed fifth in the discus (123-9). A three-sport athlete (she also plays volleyball and basketball), Hooks has become a faster, more explosive thrower each season, Stengele said.

“She’s getting better because she does her homework,” Stengele said in reference to her self-imposed training regimen. “She knows what she needs to work on.”

The effort continues to pay off. Hooks recently uncorked a personal-best discus throw of 138-10. Stengele said he believes she can hit 150 feet in the discus and 49 feet in the shot this year.

But patience is crucial. For top-notch throwers such as Hooks, progress comes in small chunks.

“When you get to a certain level,” Stengele said, “small improvements, even inches, are huge.”

Hooks, who has increased the amount of time she devotes to discus training, said her goal this year is to claim two state titles. The shot put is her first love but “the more successful I get with the discus, the more I like it,” she said. “I love it 100 percent more than I did last year.”

Challenges from talented rivals such as Snohomish senior Nicole Luckenbach – her throw of 119-9 earned her sixth place in the discus at last year’s 4A state meet – will keep Hooks on her toes.

Other top local girls throwers include:

* Arlington senior Jasmine McCormack, whose 144-foot javelin throw ranked second at last year’s 4A state meet. The champion, Skyview’s Kara Patterson, graduated.

* Lake Stevens junior Cassy Osborn, the younger sister of Vikings standout Clint Osborn, missed qualifying for state in the discus by one spot last spring. This season, she’s already chucked a 115-11 throw, which would have ranked eighth in last year’s state final.

* South Whidbey senior Kimery Hern won the Class 2A state discus last year with a throw of 136-2. She also took third in the state hammer throw exhibition in just her second year of competing in the event. Hern, who is competing again after suffering a broken wrist in December, is considering attending Georgia Tech, Idaho or Washington State.

* Sultan sophomore Krystal Paszkeicz’s shot put of 37-83/4 was the fourth-best at last year’s 2A state meet and she’s already set a personal record this season.

Among boys throwers, Clint Osborn of Lake Stevens rules the local roost. Coming off a Class 4A state wrestling title in the heavyweight division, he looks to improve on his second-place finish in the shot put (57-5) at last spring’s state meet (last year’s winner graduated). Osborn, who is being recruited for his throwing skills by Washington State University, is also taking aim at the Lake Stevens High shot put record of 62-1 set by Mike Williams in 1967.

Osborn also hopes to qualify for state in the discus. The Vikings’ strongman uncorked a throw of 155-6 last year at the Wesco Championship meet but stalled at the district meet. His big Wesco mark would have ranked sixth at state.

For the first time in his prep career Osborn is regularly lifting weights, and the work has further strengthened his already chiseled frame, Lake Stevens coach Jegg Page said.

“I think he’s a substantial amount stronger,” Page said. “I (didn’t think it was) possible for him to get bigger, but he’s bigger too.”

Like Cascade’s Hooks, Page said Osborn is unusually nimble for an athlete his size. Osborn’s long torso, low center of gravity and quickness have several college coaches looking at him as a potential hammer thrower, Page said.

Osborn is one of several talented boys throwers in the area this spring. The group includes:

* King’s junior Michael Davis, who won the javelin at the 2004 Class 1A state meet. His winning throw of 187-8 would have won the 4A meet. Davis, who has drawn the attention of NCAA Division I recruiters, set a stadium record March 24 with a throw of 206-2 in Leavenworth.

* Everett junior Rick Gervasi, whose javelin toss of 183-10 ranked third at last year’s 4A state meet.

* Kamiak senior Chase Mancuso, who launched the fifth-longest discus throw (158-6) at the 2004 4A state meet. Last week, at a meet in Yakima, he threw 181-9.

* Lakewood senior Adam Togstad, who placed second in the javelin (170-2) at the 2004 2A state meet.