Jackson Jumps into Strong Field

Oliver Jackson of Royal High bypassed his senior season of football to run cross-country last fall so he could excel in track and field meets like the Flo Jo Memorial Arcadia Invitational today at Citrus College in Glendora.

Jackson, who has signed with UCLA, leaped a school record of 24 feet, 4 3/4 inches in the long jump last year and placed second in the state championships.

This season he wanted to be stronger in the latter rounds of competition and become a top-flight 300-meter intermediate hurdler, so he ran cross-country to improve his endurance.

The move didn’t pay immediate dividends in the long jump as his early-season marks lagged behind those of last year. But he leaped a yearly nation-leading 24-3 1/2 in the Santa Barbara Easter Relays at Santa Barbara City College two weeks ago.

He’ll compete against a stellar field today that includes Rolando Scott of Concordia (Ind.) and Tony Allmond of Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, Brandon Parker of Stockton Lincoln and Chris Morgan of Taft.

The invitational portion of the meet, which has been renamed in memory of 1988 Olympic sprint champion Florence Griffith Joyner, starts with the boys’ discus at 4 p.m. Running events begin at 6:10.

Morgan, Jerrick Holmes of Palmdale, Porchea Carroll of Rio Mesa and Anita Siraki of Hoover are the other athletes from the region who have the best outdoor marks in the state this year in their respective events.

Morgan, a junior who’s the defending City Section champion in the boys’ long jump, has run a state-leading 14.08 seconds in the 110 high hurdles. But he’ll be an underdog to senior Rickey Harris of Clifton (Va.), who ran 13.72 in the 110 highs last year and tied the national high school record in the 60 highs during the indoor season.

Holmes, a senior, cleared a co-national leading 7-0 in the high jump in the Northridge-Alemany Relays at Cal State Northridge three weeks ago. He’ll face a field that has 12 jumpers with bests of 6-8 or better, including defending City champion Fernando Lopez of Taft.

Carroll, a junior, is the state leader in the girls’ 100 in 11.67 and 200 in 24.15 and ranks sixth in the long jump at 18-5.

Seniors Monique Hall of Houston and Aisha Margain of Berkeley could be Carroll’s biggest challengers in the 100, with Hall and sophomore Angel Perkins of Cerritos Gahr her toughest competition in the 200.

Hall has run 11.74 in the 100 this year and 23.59 in the 200 last year.

Margain ran 11.87 in the 100 in the Stanford Invitational two weeks ago and Perkins clocked a career best of 23.43 to place third in the 200 in the state championships last year.

Siraki, a junior, placed fourth in the national cross-country championships in December and is the state leader in the 3,200 at 10:34.9.

She’ll run against a field that includes senior Victoria Chang of Honolulu, the national cross-country champion; junior Sara Bei of Santa Rosa Montgomery, the national indoor leader in the two-mile at 10:32.30; and junior Michelle de la Vina of Valpariso (Ind.), who ran 10:34.98 to finish ahead of Siraki in the two-mile in the Nike Indoor Classic at Indiana University in February.

Junior Marcus Raines and senior Rodney Woods of Littlerock, senior Shane Hackett of Verdugo Hills and senior Deneeka Torrey of Taft will also compete.

Raines will run in the 110 high hurdles and 300 intermediates.

Woods will compete in the triple jump and Hackett is entered in the pole vault.

Torrey, defending City champion in the girls’ 100 high hurdles and 300 lows, will run in those events and in the 400 and 1,600 relays.