Barnes to Serve as Track Assistant at Glendale

John Barnes, the track and cross-country coach at Glendale High from 1967 to ‘92, has stepped down and will be an assistant to track Coach Kevin Grist this season.

Barnes, 63, a member of the 1952 U.S. Olympic team in the 800 meters, said he is “95% sure” that this will be his last season in coaching. He plans to continue teaching at Glendale for two or three more years.

“It’s been fun, but there are other things that I want to do,” Barnes said. “I have a lot of fond memories from my coaching career. I don’t regret any of it, but it’s time to pursue some other things.”

Dwight Stones, Lee Balkin and Bobby Thomas are among those Barnes coached during his tenure at Glendale.

Stones, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in the high jump, won the 1971 state high school title in the event.

Balkin, a member of the 1987 U.S. World Championship team in the high jump, won the 1979 state title for Glendale.

Thomas was a standout distance runner for the Dynamiters and won the 1975 World Junior (age 19 and under) cross-country championships as a Glendale College freshman. Grist, a former high jumper and pole vaulter at Glendale, will serve in a walk-on capacity.

Marion Jones of the Thousand Oaks High girls’ basketball team has been selected Cal-Hi Sports magazine’s state athlete of the week. Jones scored 33 points and grabbed 25 rebounds to lead Thousand Oaks to a 72-49 victory over Channel Islands last week. Later in the week, she had 26 points and 12 rebounds in a 68-37 win over Westlake.

Thousand Oaks entered play this week ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports.

Janae Lautenschlager of Northridge completed a sweep of the U.S. national diving team’s South Pacific tour with a victory on the one-meter springboard in the Australia Day meet last weekend in Canberra, Australia.

Lautenschlager, 22, scored 250.62 points, defeating teammate and 1992 Olympic medalist Mary Ellen Clark who finished second with 243.24 points. Earlier in the tour, Lautenschlager, a Granada Hills High graduate, won in New Zealand and in Sydney, Australia.

Meilen Tu of Northridge defeated Australia’s Jodie Lynn, 6-3, 6-2, Tuesday to advance to the third round of the Australian Open.

Tu and teammate Karin Miller of Trenton, N.J., lost, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4, to Melissa Beadman and Helen Olsson of Australia in second-round doubles play.

Tu had beaten Haruka Inoue of Japan, 6-3, 6-0, in the first round in singles Monday and teamed with Miller to stop Jenny-Anne Fetch and Lonny Young of Australia, 6-2, 6-3, in doubles.

G.C. Marcaccini of College of the Canyons and Rosa Mendez of Valley have been selected as the Western State Conference men’s and women’s basketball players of the week.

Marcaccini, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman from Notre Dame High, had combined totals of 46 points and 22 rebounds last week as the Cougars opened defense of their WSC South Division title with two wins.

Mendez, a 5-7 sophomore from Roosevelt High, had 55 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in two Valley victories last week.

The Mission College baseball team is seeking former players to participate in an alumni game at the school Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

Information: 818-837-1201.