Jones Sets National Age Record in 100 : State track meet: Rio Mesa High freshman clocks 11.62 seconds to eclipse previous mark by 0.01. She also qualified for today’s final in the 200.

Marion Jones had not decided on a strategy before she entered the 100-meter dash in the preliminaries of the state track and field championships Friday at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

“I guess I was just trying to qualify, but I guess I was trying to get my best time too,” she said.

Whatever her goals, the result was a record-breaking performance by the Rio Mesa High freshman. Jones, 14, set a national age-group record Friday, winning her heat in 11.62 seconds to qualify for the finals tonight. Jones’ time clipped 0.01 off the previous record set in 1978 by Michele Glover of New Jersey.

“She had a good wind today, 1.98 (meters per second),” Rio Mesa co-Coach Brian FitzGerald said of Jones’ time in the 100.

The maximum allowable wind for records is 2.0 meters per second.

Jones returned to the track to post the No. 1 qualifying mark in the 200 at 23.78. She also anchored Rio Mesa’s 400 relay team to a come-from-behind heat win in 47.07.

After upstaging national sprint leader Inger Miller of Pasadena Muir in both races in the Southern Section Masters meet last week, Jones enters today’s finals as the favorite. Jones, however, isn’t resting on her laurels.

“I think we’re kind of equal right now,” she said of herself and Miller. “I’m aware of what Inger can do at any time and I don’t want to enter a race thinking I’m the favorite and saying I don’t have to run hard.”

Miller, who has been nursing an ankle injury since the Arcadia Invitational in April, qualified with times of 12.04 and 24.23.

In Rio Mesa’s heat in the 400 relay, St. Bernard, the Southern Section 2-A Division champion, led by 10 meters in the final stretch. But Jones, churning away in Lane 6, passed the Vikings’ anchor runner eight meters from the finish.

Danielle Tanner had handed the baton to Jones in second place, but a poor exchange doubled Rio Mesa’s deficit. St. Bernard was second in 47.12.

“I took off a little early,” Jones said. “I guess I was a little excited. I wanted to catch the girl in front of me.”

Birmingham’s Brian Gastelum played catch-up too.

With 150 meters remaining in his 1,600 heat, Gastelum sprinted past six runners to win in 4:12.82.

In the final 150 meters, Gastelum feared that his season was over.

“I couldn’t go through the middle and I couldn’t go through the inside, so I just went outside,” he said. “I was kind of doubting myself. I had five people in front of me and I thought if I don’t get up there. . . .”

In the final 150, Gastelum trailed Paul Goodrich of Dos Pueblos but managed to move into sixth as he entered the final stretch. Gastelum dashed past the lead pack, which included Arroyo Grande’s Louie Quintana, about 10 meters from the finish to win.

Quintana, a junior, is currently ranked second nationally in the event at 4:07.20 but finished third in 4:13.01.

Oregon-bound Coley Candaele of Carpinteria, whose 4:06.58 clocking tops the national list, won the other 1,600 heat in 4:12.44.

Gastelum followed San Diego Mar Vista’s Hector Hernandez through 400 (61.6) and ran even with Quintana as the pair trailed Hernandez by a meter at 1,200 (3:13.0), before he was engulfed by a four-runner chase group.

The UCLA-bound senior, amid all the jostling, found himself boxed in on the inside lane with 300 meters to go.

“I’ve never been in a race like that where everyone is pushing and shoving,” Gastelum said. “I got boxed in and I didn’t want to cut anyone off.”

Ruben Benitez of Taft, Kyle Beck of Chatsworth and Derek Kite of Camarillo each qualified for the finals with first-, second- and third-place finishes in their respective events.

Benitez held off Curtis Shearer of San Jose Silver Creek in the final stretch of the 400 to win in 48.10. Shearer was second in 48.13.

After a non-qualifying fifth-place effort (15.04) in the 110 high hurdles, Beck ran a personal-best 38.45 in the 300 intermediates. San Jose Andrew Hill’s Rocky Morris won in 37.64.

Kite, the Southern Section 4-A champion in the 1,600, timed 4:13.32 behind Candaele and Matt Ringer (4:13.06) of Cupertino Homestead.