Rio Mesa’s Jones Off to Races in Absence of Rival Miller

Even though Inger Miller of Pasadena Muir High scratched from the 100- and 200-meter finals in the state track and field championships Saturday, Marion Jones remained faithful to her simple strategy: Run.

The Rio Mesa freshman started fast and finished faster to easily win state titles in both races at Cerritos College. She timed 11.67 seconds in the 100 and 23.71 in the 200.

Santisha Arnold of Morningside finished second in the 100 and 200 in 11.96 and 24.25, respectively.

“I still would have run the same race I ran if she had run,” said Jones, who has personal bests of 11.62 and 23.70.

With the 100 and 200 titles in hand, Jones continued Rio Mesa’s domination in the sprints. Angela Burnham, a 1989 Rio Mesa graduate, won the 100 and 200 championships last year and claimed five state sprint titles in her four-year tenure at the Oxnard school.

“She ran great,” Rio Mesa co-Coach Brian FitzGerald said of Jones. “I can tell by looking at her that she’s really tired. She’s been under a lot of pressure but she came back like a seasoned veteran.”

Jones’ efforts helped Rio Mesa to a third-place tie (20 points) with Walnut and Santa Monica. Bakersfield won handily with 61 points and Morningside was second with 30. Muir (24) and Lompoc (20) finished first and second in the boys’ competition.

Miller, runner-up in the 100 and 200 in last year’s state championships as a junior, chose to forgo her final high school meet to avoid further aggravation of an ankle injury sustained in April.

Although she ran in pain in Friday’s preliminaries, Miller comfortably qualified for the finals but decided not to run when the injury worsened.

“The pain was just so excruciating after my race (Friday),” said Miller, who has signed with USC. “I may not have won a state championship but so what? I’m looking forward to the future.”

The Mustang senior leads the nation in both sprints with 11.48 and 23.57 clockings.

Agoura’s Bryan Dameworth and Deena Drossin repeated their championship performances in the state Division I cross-country meet, winning the boys’ and girls’ 3,200 finals, respectively.

The state 3,200 title has eluded Dameworth since his freshman year, but the Charger senior stuck with his usual front-running tactics to win in a nation-leading 8:53.26.

The time surpassed Andy Maris’ mark of 8:53.78, which the White River High (Buckley, Wash.) senior ran to beat Dameworth in the Arcadia Invitational.

Three other local runners also placed in the top six in the 3,200. UCLA-bound Eliazar Herrera of Hoover recorded a personal-best 8:58.97 to finish second. San Fernando’s Obed Aguirre (9:01.11) and Camarillo’s Abe Valdez (9:05.78) were fourth and fifth.

Ten minutes before Dameworth’s title run, Drossin handily won the girls’ 3,200 in a state-leading and lifetime-best 10:29.60. The junior’s finish was an improvement over her third-place effort last year.

Westlake’s Jeannie Rothman timed 10:54.29 in placing fourth.

Canoga Park’s Marcus Reed long-jumped 23 feet 8 inches to finish a surprising third.

Entering the meet with a best of 22-10 and a runner-up finish in the City Section finals, Reed soared 23-0 3/4 in the prelims to make the final.

After jumping 21-6 1/4 and 21-5 3/4, Reed jumped 23-8 on his third attempt to move into second, a position he held until Etiwanda’s Jason Duff jumped 24-0 3/4 to break a streak of four consecutive fouls.

Duff jumped 24-1 on his final attempt to finish second and Jerome Price of San Diego University City won at 25-3 1/4.

Camarillo’s Derek Kite held on to place fourth in the 1,600 after Louie Quintana blistered a 57.7-second third lap in an attempt to break away from eventual winner Coley Candaele of Carpinteria.

Kite timed 4:13.67 and Candaele a nation-leading 4:06.26. Quintana was second in 4:08.29.

The Scorpion senior ran even with Birmingham’s Brian Gastelum through 800, but the two trailed Quintana by eight meters and Candaele by five.

“He wanted Coley a lot,” Kite said of Quintana’s third-lap surge. “He just took off.”

Gastelum, who won his preliminary heat Friday, faded to ninth in 4:26.94.