Jones Adds to Pace-Setting Resume

Those who witnessed Marion Jones establish a nation-leading time in the 400 meters in the Northridge/Alemany Relays on Saturday at Cal State Northridge saw the Rio Mesa High sophomore finish the race with no other runner near her.

In fact, Jones started the one-lap contest practically by herself.

Jones timed 54.94 seconds for the top girls’ high school time in the nation this year but only two other runners started the race with her. Jones, who won by 7.25 seconds over St. Bernard’s Shanrika Hansen (1:02.19), also set a nation-leading mark in the 200 in 23.71.

“With the lack of people to carry her in the first half of the race, it was hard for (Jones) to gauge how fast she was running,” Rio Mesa co-Coach Brian FitzGerald said of the first half of the 400. “I told her, ‘It’s early in the season, let’s see what you got.’ ”

Jones has plenty.

In the 200, about 2 1/2 hours after her 400 win, Jones easily outdistanced Deanna Knowles of Pasadena Muir.

Jones, who set a nation-leading 11.61 in the 100 in the Spartan Relays on Mar. 2, won that event Saturday. Jones’ 11.65 clocking was impressive considering she was running into an 0.30-m.p.h. head wind.

“To come out and run that fast in this wind tells you something about Marion,” FitzGerald said.

Although Knowles was seventh in the 100 and eighth in the 200 in last year’s Southern Section Masters meet, Jones beat her by four meters in the 100. Knowles timed 12.29 in second place.

Agoura distance runner Deena Drossin logged one individual and two relay wins before embarking on an early morning flight today to New York en route to Antwerp, Belgium, for the World Junior (age 14-19) cross-country championships Mar. 24.

Drossin ran a 5-minute 5.5-second leg on the Chargers’ winning mile relay team, which set a meet-record 21:27.58. Agoura’s time eclipsed the old mark of 21:30.00 set by Buena in 1985.

Two hours later Drossin won the invitational 1,500 over L. A. University’s Robin Snowbeck in 4:40.73. Snowbeck clocked 4:42.81. Drossin capped the day with a 5:10.3 1,600 leg on Agoura’s victorious distance-medley team (12:42.71).

Compton’s Ricky Carrigan turned in three solid performances in the sprints. Carrigan won the 100 in 10.81 against Jack Bellamy (11.15) of Thousand Oaks despite bucking a head wind. Carrigan also took the 200 (21.70) and had the fastest 400 time of the day at 48.13.

Billy Dixon (8:53.80) of Hart and Westlake’s Jeannie Rothman (10:15.35) won the boys’ and girls’ 3,000-meter events.