Sanford Could Have a Leg Up

Michelle Sanford will try to outdistance another talented long jump field Saturday at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

And this time, she’ll have fresh legs.

Sanford, a Woodbridge High sophomore, won the event six days ago at the Arcadia Invitational with a state-leading mark of 19 feet 9 3/4 inches. She did it not long after competing in her other specialty, the triple jump, in which she finished third.

“I don’t like doing the long jump after the triple jump,” Sanford said. “It takes a lot out of my legs.”

Sanford will begin the long jump Saturday at 8:30 a.m., followed by a leg of the 400 relay at 10:20 a.m. and the 100-meter dash at 12:45 p.m. The triple jump competition begins at 1:10 p.m.

The long jump field will also include Dana Bethel of Mission Viejo and Maxine Marlow of Bakersfield Centennial, both of whom have jumped 19-4; Usha Kuzhippallil of La Costa Canyon (19-5), and Yuridi Bustamante of Mexico (19-8 1/4).

The girls’ triple jump field will include Tinisha Johnson of Sparks (Nev.) Reed High, who is among the nation’s best at 40-1; Clarice Howard-Lee of Bellevue (Wash.) Newport (39-1 1/2); Nicole Duhart of Cerritos Gahr (wind-aided 40-4 1/2); NaOnka Mixon of Long Beach Poly (39-3 3/4 indoors), and Lucia Contreras of Mexico (40- 1/2).

Sanford produced a personal best of 40-5 3/4 at the Surf City Invitational in Huntington Beach last month, although the mark was considered wind-aided.

Another county athlete hoping to carry the momentum of a superb performance at Arcadia is Magnolia junior Vao Faoa, who produced the fifth-best girls’ discus throw in county history and the best since Canyon’s Allison Franke threw 160-6 in 1989.

Faoa was the last of eight finalists at Arcadia, qualifying from the first of two flights, then unleashed a throw of 150-8 to finish third.

The discus competition at Mt. SAC, which begins at 9:15 a.m., won’t be any easier.

Michelle Pequignot of Arroyo Grande has thrown 162-10, Gennessa Guzman of Covina Charter Oak threw 159-1 to win Arcadia, and Rachel Varner of Bakersfield was fourth with a personal-best 149-10.

Faoa is also entered in the shotput competition, which begins at 12:30 p.m.

Another junior, Edison’s Rachael Ziemann, will try to improve on her second-place finish in the high jump at Arcadia, facing several competitors she defeated last weekend in another early-morning event.

Highlighting the boys’ competition could be Santa Margarita’s 1,600 relay team of Sean Zeitler, Bobby Braun, Jeff Jacobs and Brad Slinkard, which hopes to make up for a dropped baton in the invitational event at Arcadia. The closing event, which begins at 4:45 p.m., also features Arcadia champion Woodland Hills Taft and third-place finisher Long Beach Poly.

Edison’s Scott Brandos is part of a competitive 3,000-meter field that includes Alta Loma’s Jordan Horn, who ran 9:12.48 for 10th in the 3,200 at Arcadia, and Li Shi of China, who has run 8:45.0 for 3,000 meters.

The county’s leading pole vaulters, Fountain Valley’s B.J. Vandrovec and Katella’s David Giang, are scheduled to compete against a number of vaulters who have also cleared 15 feet.

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The Facts

* What: Mt. San Antonio College Relays.

* Where: Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

* When: Today-Sunday. Community college competition starts today at 8 a.m. with the invitational distance carnival beginning at 6:35 p.m. High school competition starts Saturday at 8 a.m. with the university-open middle-distance carnival beginning at 7 p.m. The meet starts Sunday at 9 a.m. with opening ceremonies for the international day of champions at 12:50 p.m.

* Who: Maurice Greene and Marion Jones, the world’s fastest man and woman, lead the entries in a meet that will include nine athletes who won medals in individual events in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.