Suspension to Keep Jones Out of Sunkist 50-Meter Dash

Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks High is ineligible to compete in the women’s 50-meter dash at the Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena on Saturday because she is under suspension from USA Track & Field for missing a random drug test in September.

Sunkist co-meet director Don Franken had said Tuesday that Jones would run either a leg on the Lancers’ 4 x 160-yard relay during the high school portion of the meet or run in the women’s 50 that night against a field that will include Gail Devers, the 1992 Olympic champion in the 100, and Michelle Finn, the co-U.S. record holder in the 50.

However, because she is ineligible to compete in the invitational section of meets while under suspension, Jones, a senior who finished fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 100 at last year’s U.S. Olympic trials, is not allowed to run in the women’s 50.

The suspension does not affect her eligibility at the high school and collegiate level, but it prevents her from representing the United States in international meets. Jones has signed a national letter of intent to run track and play basketball at North Carolina.

Jones’ participation in the meet also hinges on the fate of the Thousand Oaks girls’ basketball team, the two-time defending Division I-A champion. A standout center for the undefeated Lancers, Jones will lead Thousand Oaks in a second-round game scheduled for Saturday. The school is considering moving that game to Friday.

Jones, 17, missed a random drug test administered by The Athletics Congress in September and could be declared ineligible from competing in international and national championship track events for four years. Jones took a test in November, USATF spokesman Pete Cava confirmed last month, and the length of her suspension is under review by USATF.

USATF policy is to make drug test results public only if they are positive. No such announcement has been made regarding Jones’ November test, so the assumption is that the test was negative.

“Marion and her mother have done everything (USA Track & Field) has asked of them,” Thousand Oaks Coach Art Green said. “Apparently, it’s just a slow decision process.”

If the suspension is upheld, Jones could apply for an arbitration hearing and the suspension could be dropped, based on the evidence presented.

TAC, which changed its name to USA Track & Field in December, sent a letter to Jones in September, informing her that she was required to undergo a random drug test within 48 hours.

Jones never received the letter, according to her mother, Marion Toler. Jones received a letter from TAC two weeks after the first one was reportedly sent, asking her why she had not been tested, according to her mother.

Because of postal problems in the past, Jones uses the work address of Elliott Mason, her personal coach since last season and a counselor at L.A. Harbor College. According to Toler, someone at Harbor signed for the letter requesting that Jones undergo a test, but Mason never received the letter.