RUNNING / JOHN ORTEGA : Jacobs’ Run of Misfortune Continued With Illness at Olympics

There are things about Regina Jacobs and major international track and field meets that just do not mesh.

At least they haven’t yet.

The former standout at Argyll Academy (now Campbell Hall High) entered the Olympic Games in Barcelona intent on making up for three disappointing finishes in international competition. However, once again performances fell short of expectations and she failed to advance to the 1,500-meter final.

In the past, Jacobs, 28, of Oakland had fallen prey to overzealousness in big meets such as the 1987 World Championships and the 1988 Olympics. She was so tense before those meets that she came unraveled and was eliminated in her qualifying heats.

After she won the 1,500 in the U.S. Olympic trials in June, she vowed this year would be different.

However, Jacobs’ Olympic medal aspirations were ruined by a respiratory infection.

After she narrowly advanced to the semifinals, Jacobs placed 12th in her heat in 4 minutes 21.55 seconds, a far cry from the 4:03.72 she ran in the trials. The top five in each of the two heats plus the next two fastest finishers qualified for the final.

“It was very disappointing to her because she had some great workouts in Barcelona,” said Erika Pringsheim of Sports Inc., the sports marketing firm that represents Jacobs.

Although the illness thwarted Jacobs’ plans to compete on the European track circuit, she hopes to run the 1,500 in the World Cup in Havana next month.

“She plans to run through 1996,” Pringsheim said. “She has a lot of things she still wants to accomplish in her career.”

Stir crazy: Jennifer Stewart of Valley College does not like to sit idly by, but she has not had much choice since suffering torn ligaments in her right knee during a workout in March.

Last week, the Monarchs’ standout high jumper-javelin thrower underwent arthroscopic surgery on her right knee for the second time since suffering the injury.

The latest operation was designed to remove scar tissue that had formed around the joint.

Stewart, 19, had tried to avoid the operation in June, but a procedure in which doctors manipulated her knee failed to break up the scar tissue.

“This better be the final operation or I’m going to kill someone,” a bombastic Stewart said last week. “I’m not used to sitting around and doing nothing.”

After she won the high jump and finished sixth in the javelin in the 1991 state junior college championships, Stewart began the 1992 season with lofty aspirations, hoping to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials in both events.

Stewart was off to a good start after improving her personal best in the javelin to 154 feet 10 inches in February, but her season came to a screeching halt March 1 when the ligaments in her knee tore.

“I actually want to start running again,” Stewart said. “I can’t believe that came out of my mouth, because usually I hate to run when I’m in shape. But that’s the way I feel right now.”

Stewart hopes to recover in time to compete for Valley next year and earn a scholarship to an NCAA Division I school. “I’m going to force it in (rehabilitation),” Stewart said. “I don’t care how much it hurts, I want to get back in shape as quickly as possible.”

Off and running: The commercialization of Quincy Watts has begun.

Less than two weeks after the former Taft High and USC sprinter won gold medals in the 400 and 1,600-meter relay in the Olympics, hats and T-shirts bearing a large letter Q--Watts’ nickname--have been popping up in the Valley, courtesy of a local import company run by Ron Block.

Block is a friend of Roger Lipkis--Watts’ business manager--and former coach of the Canoga Park-based West Valley Eagles track club. Watts ran for the club from 1985-87.

“My gut feeling is with (Quincy’s) smile and warmth, he’s going to become a very popular athlete in the next few years,” Block said.

Fast facts: Although Watts has yet to break Butch Reynolds’ world record of 43.29 seconds in the 400, he is in the midst of a season that is unmatched in the annals of the 400 when it comes to producing times of 44.00 or faster.

Before this year, five men had run 44.00 or faster seven times, led by Reynolds with three.

Watts, 22, has run 44.00 or faster five times this year, including his 43.83 win in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday. His 43.50 clocking to win the Olympic gold medal is second only to Reynolds’ record.

Rising star: The Glendale College men’s cross-country team appears to be in for a rebuilding year after placing fourth in the state championships last season, but the Vaqueros should have a standout in Jacques Sallberg.

Sallberg, who placed third in the 3,200 for Muir High in the state track championships in June, was not highly regarded at the end of the regular season.

Because he frequently ran two or three races in dual meets, Sallberg was not at his best for the early-season and midseason invitationals.

He ran fewer races toward the end of the season, however, and his times began to drop.

After he placed eighth in the 1,600 and seventh in the 3,200 in the Southern Section 4-A Division championships, Sallberg placed fifth in the 3,200 in the Masters meet and third in the state meet, lowering his personal best by 11 seconds to 9:04.19.

He followed that with a win in the two-mile in the National Scholastic championships a week later.

“He’s a very talented runner,” Hoover High distance coach Greg Switzer said. “He was just running so many races early in the season that he was never rested for any of the big meets.”

Switzer should know what he is talking about. He coaches Margarito Casillas, Sallberg’s No. 1 rival in the Pacific League.