Jones Is Leaps and Bounds Ahead of Field at Arcadia : Track and field: Thousand Oaks star wins long jump (20-9 1/4) and 100- and 200-meter sprints; Agoura’s Skieresz doubles in distance events.

What’s going to happen when Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks High fully understands the intricacies of the long jump?

That’s what more than one spectator among the crowd of approximately 7,500 at Arcadia High was asking Saturday night after Jones won the long jump and the 100- and 200-meter sprints in the 26th Arcadia Invitational.

Jones, the three-time defending state champion in the 100 and 200, leaped 20 feet 9 1/4 inches on her fifth jump to move into 13th on the all-time national high school performer list.

Additionally, she leaped 20-8 1/4 in the fourth round and 20-6 1/2 in the sixth.

Not bad for someone who was competing in the long jump for only the third time during her high school career.

“I wanted to get over 20 feet, so I’m really happy about that,” said Jones, who got a few pointers from Mike Powell, the world record-holder in the men’s long jump, before the competition.

“He just told me to relax and accelerate through the board,” Jones said. “That’s not anything that my coach hasn’t told me before, but it tends to mean a little bit more when it comes from Mr. World Record-Holder himself.”

Jones, who surpassed the school record of 20-8 3/4 set by Marlene Harmon in 1980, concedes she is a novice when it comes to the long jump, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

“When you’re an amateur like I am, you just run as fast as you can down the runway and jump,” Jones said. “I can’t get all caught up in all the details of what I’m doing as I run down the runway or I won’t perform well.”

Jones also cruised to victories in her specialties, the 100 (11.48 seconds) and the 200 (23.49) with nation-leading efforts in each event, and ran the anchor leg on Thousand Oaks’ 400-meter relay team, which timed a season best of 49.85 to finish third.

Sophomore Amy Skieresz of Agoura turned in a superb double for the Chargers, winning the girls’ 1,600 in 4 minutes 57.97 seconds, the No. 2 time in the nation this season, and running a 4:56.8 anchor leg for Agoura’s victorious distance medley relay team.

The Charger foursome of junior Kay Nekota (3:43.8 in the 1,200), junior Carrie Malnekoff (58.5, 400), senior Kristie Camp (2:17.6, 800) and Skieresz timed 11:57.02, the fastest time in the nation this season and the ninth fastest ever.

Agoura junior Cathy Prater also set a school record, timing 44.45 to place second in the 300 low hurdles.

Ryan Wilson of Agoura placed third in the boys’ 1,600 meters with a season- and region-best time of 4:13.77, and the Hart trio of sophomore Brett Strahan (fifth in 4:13.90), senior Paul De La Cerda (ninth in 4:15.57) and junior Gavin Klinger (12th in 4:16.7) all ran personal bests.

Mike Wenz of Canyon was sixth in the boys’ 800 although he ran a personal-best 1:53.82. Wenz also teamed with Matt Berkeland, Kevin Brown and Charles Mansfield for a national-leading time of 10:16.07 in the distance medley relay.

Michael Granville of Bell Gardens, an age-group standout for the West Valley Eagles during the summer track season, set a national freshman record of 1:51.61 to win the event.

Camarillo junior Jeremy Fischer and Hoover senior Margarito Casillas both had disappointing efforts.

Fischer, who has a personal best of 7-1 in the high jump, finished third at 6-8, and Casillas was ninth in the 3,200.

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