GIRLS’ PREVIEW : Rio Mesa Runs Across Quick Fix in Sprints

There’s a new kid on the blocks at Rio Mesa High.

Marion Jones shattered former Spartan standout Angela Burnham’s age-group 200-meter record of 24.91 seconds with a 24.30 clocking in the Track City Classic meet in Eugene, Ore., as an eighth-grader and moved into Rio Mesa’s district from Sherman Oaks during the summer. Jones also timed 12.01 for 100 meters.

The freshman sprinter should make life after Burnham an easier transition for Coach Brian FitzGerald’s girls’ track and field team.

“We had our league meeting (Feb. 20) and I was getting ribbed about recruiting,” FitzGerald said, laughing. “(The other coaches) were saying, ‘So you brought another one in, eh?’ It’s not going to be very bad at all,” he said about competing without Burnham, now at UCLA.

In her four-year high school career, Burnham won three state titles in the 100--including the 1986 championship as a freshman--and two state titles in the 200. She paced Rio Mesa to a tie with Bakersfield for the state title in 1988 and a runner-up finish a year ago.

FitzGerald said that his new charge is capable of running “around 11.7” for the 100 and in the mid-23-second range for the 200 this season and added that Jones, 14, should not be far behind Pasadena Muir’s Inger Miller, the state’s top returning sprinter.

“I think, barring injury, she’s a shoo-in to be at the state meet,” FitzGerald said. “I don’t foresee anyone in California beating her other than Inger.”

Jones also stars on the basketball court. She averaged more than 20 points and 14 rebounds a game this season and was named to the All-Ventura County and Channel League teams, FitzGerald said.

“She just got out of basketball. (During the season) we trained minimally for the Sunkist (Invitational) in P.E.,” FitzGerald said. “I had her for less than an hour everyday.”

Jones, in her track debut as a Spartan, timed 6.53 seconds in winning the girls’ 50-meter dash in the Sunkist meet Jan. 19 at the Sports Arena. She also led off Rio Mesa’s winning 4 x 160-yard relay and anchored the Spartans’ victorious 4 x 440 relay.

“We’ll be a team to reckon with,” said FitzGerald, whose Spartans have won four consecutive Channel League titles.

Sophomore quarter-miler Danielle Tanner, the Ventura County champion last year with a best of 58.5, is Rio Mesa’s top returnee. She finished seventh in the Southern Section 3-A Division final.

In the long jump, senior Tarin Tucker leaped 15 feet 11 3/4 inches to finish ninth in the 3-A meet last May. Sophomore Stacy Rosemeyer, second to Burnham in the Ventura County 200 final, clocked 26.13 in that event as a freshman.

Burnham’s sister, Alycia, a junior, is expected to provide punch in the hurdles, sprints and jumps.

Individuals to watch:

Angela Arrington (Palmdale): Arrington qualified for the state championships in the shotput and discus with first- and fourth-place finishes, respectively, in the Southern Section Master’s Meet last year as a junior and won 4-A Division titles in both a week earlier. The Falcon senior boasts personal bests of 43-5 1/2 and 138-10 and is the top Valley-area returnee in both events.

Allison Avery (Alemany): The defending San Fernando Valley League champion returns as the Valley’s No. 1 800-meter runner with a best of 2:19.55. As a junior, Avery ran a 56.4 split on the Indians’ victorious 1,600 relay team.

Lori Church (Simi Valley): Last year, the Pioneer junior placed third in the 4-A Division 1,600. Church, the defending Marmonte League champion at 1,600, has a personal best of 5:10.89 in the 1,600 and 2:21.19 in the 800.

Deena Drossin (Agoura): The Charger junior ran 4:59.90 and 10:36.67 in the 1,600 and 3,200 and finished third in the 3,200 in last year’s state meet. She won 1-A titles in both events a year ago. Drossin won her second state Division I cross-country championship in November and capped the season with a 13th-place finish in the Kinney national final, earning All-American honors.

Feltina Means (Van Nuys): The Valley-area leader in the long jump last year returns with a best of 17-7 1/2. Means qualified for the state meet with third-place finishes in the 300-meter low hurdles (46.18 best) and long jump in the City championships.

She also has clocked 16.44 in the 100-meter low hurdles and leaped 5-4 in the high jump.

Lori Mertes (Chatsworth): Fifth in the state as a junior and sixth as a sophomore, Mertes returns as the Valley’s No. 1 high jumper with a best of 5-10 1/2. She finished second in the City championships last year behind West Valley League rival Melanie Clarke of El Camino Real. Mertes also put the shot 38-0 1/4 last year.

Jeannie Rothman (Westlake): Rothman finished fifth (11:21.33) in the 4-A Division 3,200 final as a sophomore and put together a fine junior cross-country campaign, finishing 16th in the Kinney national meet and third in the state Division I meet.

Nikki Smith (Montclair Prep): A 19-foot effort placed Smith second in the long jump in the 1988 state meet. She bounded 17-3 to place sixth in the Sunkist Invitational Jan. 19. Smith timed 12.99 and 27.2 in the 100 and 200 last spring.