Team Title a Longshot for Thousand Oaks

After three years at the top, Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks High is apt to have her winning streak snapped in today’s Southern Section track and field championships at Cerritos College.

Ludicrous statement?

Not if you’re talking about Jones’ winning streak in team competition in the section finals.

Jones, the three-time defending state champion in the girls’ 100 and 200 meters, led Rio Mesa to 3-A Division titles in 1990 and ‘91, and helped Thousand Oaks bring home a 3-A title last year after transferring.

She has talked all year of completing her grand slam, but the Lancers will be decided underdogs to both Long Beach Poly and Long Beach Wilson in the race for the Division I girls’ title.

Although Jones is favored to win the 100, 200 and long jump, and help Thousand Oaks to a top-five finish in the 1,600 relay, freshman Kim Mortensen is the Lancers’ only other finalist. She will run in the 3,200.

Long Beach Poly will be led by sophomore sprinters Aminah Haddad and Andrea Anderson. Sprinter Keisha Backus and distance runner Erica Sumi are two of Long Beach Wilson’s standouts.

“Poly and Wilson look awfully tough,” Thousand Oaks Coach Art Green said. “I think Muir, us and Agoura will be fighting for third.”

Jones, who has personal bests of 11.14 in the 100, 22.58--a national high school record--in the 200, and 21 feet 7 inches in the long jump, is expected to win her eighth, ninth and 10th section titles, but Green says her best performances are a couple of weeks away.

“She has that great ability to drop her times and improve her performances as she starts getting down to the bigger meets,” Green said. “She did it before and she’s doing it again.”

Agoura, the Marmonte League champion, will be led by sophomore Amy Skieresz, the favorite in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Other area favorites in the Division I meet include Cheaza Figueroa of Quartz Hill (100 high hurdles, triple jump) and Dolores Tuimoloau of Channel Islands (discus).

Athletes from the area appear capable of making a clean sweep of the distance races and horizontal jumps in the Division I boys’ meet.

Ryan Wilson of Agoura, the favorite in the 1,600, is expected to battle Isaac Turner of Burbank and Paul De La Cerda of Hart for the 800 title.

Margarito Casillas of Hoover, the 1992 state Division I cross-country champion, is favored in the 3,200.

The Golden League pair of Quartz Hill’s Jamal Chase and Palmdale’s Ty Gaines are favored in the long jump and triple jump after producing personal bests of 23-5 1/2 and 49-7 1/2, respectively, in last week’s preliminaries.

Jeremy Fischer of Camarillo, who won the 3-A high jump title last season, also is favored. Fischer, a junior who has a best of 7-2, has cleared 7 feet or better in five meets this season.

Seniors Maribella Aparicio of Fillmore and Alan Duben of Oak Park, and junior Jim Romero of L.A. Baptist each is favored to win two events in the Division IV meet.

Aparicio has the top qualifying marks in the girls’ 1,600 and 3,200, as does Duben in the boys’ shotput and discus.

Romero will compete in the boys’ high jump and long jump.

Harvard-Westlake senior Jesse Stern is favored to win his third consecutive section title in the Division IV pole vault.

Field events begin at 11 a.m. and running events begin at 1 p.m.