U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : Marion Jones Leads South to Gold Medal in Basketball

When the women’s basketball team from the South went on a fast break this week, it was a fast break.

With former Thousand Oaks High guard Marion Jones at the controls, the South defeated the West, 94-92, Tuesday in the Olympic Festival gold medal game at St. Louis Arena.

Jones, a record-setting sprinter in high school, scored 17 points, including nine at the end of the third quarter as the South opened a 75-66 lead.

At the end, every bit of that margin was needed. The West had several chances to tie in the final two minutes, but missed two one-and-one free throws and guard Kate Paye missed an off-balance shot over Jones at the buzzer.

Jon Baer made a team-high 12 kills and Cal State Northridge teammate Peter Piexoto added seven to lead the East volleyball team to a 15-10, 15-12, 15-11 first-round victory over the West and another Northridge player, Craig Hewitt. Baer also contributed two blocks and two aces while Piexoto added four blocks and one ace. Hewitt, who played sparingly, had four kills and one block.

Doug Hughes of Moorpark and Paul Severns of Glendale contributed as the North beat the South, 11-15, 15-7, 15-13, 10-15, 15-12 in the other men’s match. Hughes made seven kills. Severns had one kill and five blocks.

In tennis, Ania Bleszynski of Thousand Oaks advanced to the gold medal match in women’s singles by defeating Laura Berendt of Tampa, Fla., 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Bleszynski, 17, and Jennifer Heiser of Stockton, Calif., won the bronze medal in women’s doubles by defeating Tara Snyder of Wichita, Kan., and Christy Sim of Shawnee Mission, Kan., 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

Snyder will be Bleszynski’s opponent in today’s gold medal singles match. After her singles match, Bleszynski and Mark Loughrin of Greendale, Wis., will play for a gold medal in mixed doubles.

Philip Tseng of Harvard-Westlake High and David Sutton of San Juan, P.R., lost the bronze medal match, 6-2, 7-5, to Mike Jessup of Saratoga, Calif., and Hyron Yoo of Rockville, Md.

Also losing a bronze medal match was the archery team of Mark Hainline, Justin Huish and Barry Weinperl. Hainline and Huish, both from Simi Valley, and Weinperl, from Easton, Pa., were defeated, 238-237, by Staten Holmes of Houston, Joe McGlyn of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Shane Parker of Hurdle Hills, N.C.

In equestrian competition, Westlake Village resident Dennis Callin won a bronze medal in dressage for the second year in a row.