Kinard Jumps to Head of Class

Vanitta Kinard took the first of three steps needed to make her first Olympic team in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials before 23,124 at Cal State Sacramento on Thursday night.

Kinard, who took up the triple jump as a senior at El Camino Real High in 1993, bounded a wind-aided 45-4 1/4 in that event to lead qualifying for the final Saturday.

“We wanted to [exceed the automatic qualifying standard of 44-7] for the finals on my first jump,” Kinard said. “But it didn’t happen. I didn’t quite run off the board. The second time, I ran off the board and just let God take care of the rest.”

Kinard, who competed for Santa Monica College in 1994 and ‘95, and for Kansas State in 1996 and ‘97, leaped 44-0 3/4 on her first attempt before topping that by nearly 15 1/2 inches in the second. She passed her third--and final--attempt.

Shakeema Walker was second at 45-1, followed by Tiombe’ Hurd at 44-11 and U.S. record-holder Sheila Hudson at 44-6 1/4.

Brandi Prieto of Cal State Northridge, runner-up in the NCAA championships in June, qualified 10th for the 12-woman final with a leap of 43-5.

Kinard’s mark was the farthest of her career, but she’ll probably have to jump substantially farther to qualify for the Olympics in Sydney.

The top three finishers in the final will position themselves to represent the U.S. in Australia, but only if they equal or exceed the “A” qualifying standard of 46-5 1/4 by Sept. 11.

If no U.S. woman makes the “A” standard, then the highest-finishing individual at the Olympic trials who exceeds the “B” standard of 45-9 1/4 would go.

“My goal is to make the team, but to also make the [A] standard,” said the 5-foot-10, 128-pound Kinard. “We’ve trained hard to do that so I guess we’ll see.”

Prieto didn’t approach her 44-3 1/4 career best from the NCAA championships, but she was consistent, jumping 43-5 in the first round, 43-3 3/8 in the second and 43-4 1/4 in the third.

“I was jumping pretty bad,” she said. “Hopefully I can get off a good one [Saturday]. . . . I know it’s there. All I have to do is let it happen.”

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Avery Anderson of Reseda was a surprising fourth in the decathlon with a total of 4,269 points after the first day of the 10-event endeavor.

Anderson, who trains at Cal State Northridge under Matador assistant Jeff McAuley, cleared 7-3 in the high jump as a senior at Riverside North High in 1991. He competed in track and played wide receiver in football at UCLA but didn’t begin training for the decathlon until last summer.

He qualified for the Olympic trials when he totaled 7,952 points in a meet at Northridge on June 30 and July 1.

Anderson posted marks of 10.83 in the 100 meters, 24-2 1/4 in the long jump, 44 feet in the shotput, 6-11 in the high jump and 48.83 in the 400 on to top his first-day total at Northridge by 67 points.

Chris Huffins was the leader after the first day with 4,563 points, followed by Tom Pappas with 4,451 and Stephen Moore with 4,355.

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Regina Jacobs of Oakland and Deena Drossin of Alamosa, Colo., will try to qualify for the Olympic team in their second events tonight when they run in the final of the women’s 5,000 at 9:20.

Jacobs, a 1981 graduate of what is now Campbell Hall High, won the 1,500 for an unprecedented third consecutive time Sunday.

Drossin, a 1991 graduate of Agoura, won the 10,000 last Friday.