Thousand Oaks Goes Distance for Victory : Track and field: Lancers clinch first overall Marmonte League title since 1991 behind Fischer.

For the second year in a row, Thousand Oaks High swept the boys’ distance races to pace the Lancers to victory in the Marmonte League finals at Camarillo High on Friday night.

There was a difference this time, however, as Thousand Oaks’ 125-106 victory over runner-up Royal clinched the Lancers’ first overall league title since 1991.

Thousand Oaks had posted a 148 1/2-to-108 1/2 victory over Camarillo last year, but the Lancers had to settle for second place overall because they had lost to Camarillo and Royal in tri-meet competition.

Thousand Oaks was 7-0 in tri-meet competition this season, but Newbury Park led, 31-24, after the first three events.

The Panthers had won the 400 relay, finished first and sixth in the shotput and placed third and fourth in the high jump to take the lead. But Thousand Oaks countered with a 1-2-3-5 finish in the 1,600 that was worth 26 points and gave the Lancers a 50-31 lead over the Panthers.

Newbury Park pulled to within 93-91 after 12 events, but James Pashley bounded 43 feet 5 inches to finish third in the triple jump and Fischer and Keith O’Doherty placed first and fifth in the 3,200 to give Thousand Oaks a 111-93 advantage with the 1,600 relay remaining.

Fischer, who made an oral commitment to Stanford earlier in the week, won the 1,600 and 3,200 for

the second year in a row with times of 4 minutes 29.90 seconds and 9:17.59.

“I knew we would score a lot of points,” Fischer said of the 1,600. “But when I crossed the finish line and looked back and saw (Josh Carolan) and (Tony Smith) in third and fifth, I was really impressed. It was really great to see that.”

Kevin Marsden also defended his title in the 800, coming from behind to defeat Adam Eyre of Agoura in the final 10 meters.

Marsden’s time of 1:58.77 was slower than the 1:57.15 personal best of last year, but he was very happy with his performance as he had been sidelined for much of the season because of mononucleosis.

Pashley was the Lancers’ other big scorer as he also placed second in the long jump at 21-3 1/2.

Ron Robertson of Newbury Park and Greg Seth-Hunter of Royal were other double winners in the boys’ meet.

Robertson won the 100 and 200 with wind-aided times of 11.07 and 22.74 and anchored the Panthers to victory in the 400 relay (44.42).

Seth-Hunter won the 110 high hurdles (wind-aided 14.59) and the 300 intermediates (41.0) and finished second in the 100 (11.12).

In the girls’ meet, Thousand Oaks totaled 114 points to win its second consecutive league title. Newbury Park placed second with 85, followed by Channel Islands with 76.

Junior Kim Mortensen scored 26 points for the Lancers by winning the 800 (2:20.16) and finishing second to Amy Skieresz of Agoura in the 1,600 (5:19.70) and 3,200 (a personal best 10:51.55).

Skieresz’s time of 5:17.16 was tortoise-slow by her standards, but much of that was because the field coasted through the first 800 in 2:45. Skieresz didn’t fool around in the 3,200 as her 10:41.05 clocking was the second-fastest of her career.

Skarika Higgins of Channel Islands, who won the 100, 200 and 400 and anchored the victorious 400 relay team in last week’s Ventura County championships, did it again Friday.

She ran wind-aided times of 12.48 in the 100 and 25.61 in the 200, and timed 59.85 in the 400.

The Raiders clocked 50.15 in the 400 relay.