Montgomery County Indoor Championship
Baltimore MD 1/31/97

Vanessa Jones of Sherwood High Jumps 5-8

Damascus Girls, Montgomery Boys Win Team Titles

by The Washington Post

Baltimore 1/31/97 -- Sherwood senior Vanessa Jones had never officially cleared the height she faced in the final round of the high jump in today's Montgomery County Indoor Track and Field championships at the Fifth Regiment Armory. But Jones believed she had jumped that high at least twice this season in clearing lower heights.

That confidence allowed her to clear the bar set at 5 feet 8 inches on her third attempt to set a meet record and establish a new season's best for Washington area girls.

Damascus won the girls championship as Carlesha King with the 55-meter hurdles. Richard Montgomery won the boys title behind junior Matt McGuire, who won the 55 hurdles and tied with Gaithersburg's Van Free for first in the 55 meters.

Jones thought she jumped high enough to clear 5-8 last weekend when she finished second at the Virginia Tech Invitational with an official best of 5-3 1/2.

"By the time we got to 5-8, I was exhausted, and I was not sure I could make it," Jones said. "I gave it everything I had because I knew I had jumped that high before."

Jones, an honors student who hopes to attend Penn State and study pre-med, also is a middle hitter on the Warriors' volleyball team.

"Volleyball helps because we do a lot of jumping drills," said Jones, whose previous personal best was 5-4. "What really helped me was weight training."

All running events in meters

GIRLS

High Jump -- 1, Vanessa Jones, Sherwood, 5-8;
Pole vault -- 1, Marlowe Busby, Watkins Mill, 6-6;
Shot put -- 1, Ruth Kura, Quince Orchard, 31-8 1/2;
55 -- 1, Janell Ralph, Springbrook, 7.34;
55 hurdles -- 1, Carlesha King, Damascus, 8.75;
300 -- 1, Nadia Johnson, Paint Branch, 42.60;
500 -- 1, Courtney Botts, Richard Montgomery, 1:24.4;
1,600 -- 1, Liz Starin, Richard Montgomery, 5:27.0;
3,200 -- 1, Erin Murray, Quince Orchard, 12:00.53;
800 relay -- 1, Paint Branch, 1:50.35;
1,600 relay -- 1, Paint Branch, 4:27;
3,200 relay -- 1, Quince Orchard, 10:19.04.
Top teams: Damascus 61, Paint Branch 52, Quince Orchard 47, Richard Montgomery 40, Watkins Mill 28.

BOYS

High Jump -- 1, Pierre Bobet, Damascus, 6-0;
Pole vault -- 1, Matt Runzel, Gaithersburg, and Bobby Calvin, Gaithersburg, 10-0;
Shot put -- 1, Ramsey Janims, Wheaton, 49-9 1/2;
55 -- 1, Van Free, Gaithersburg, and Matt McGuire, Richard Montgomery, 6.52;
55 hurdles -- 1, Matt McGuire, Richard Montgomery, 7.70;
300 -- 1, Freddie Monroe, Wheaton, 38.3;
500 -- 1, Jed Fohner, Richard Montgomery, 1:09.2;
1,600 -- 1, Ed Tufaro, Whitman, 4:35.4;
3,200 -- 1, Ed Tufaro, Whitman, 10:03;
800 relay -- 1, Gaithersburg, 1:37.8;
1,600 relay -- 1, Paint Branch, 3:39.2;
3,200 relay -- 1, Richard Montgomery, 8:36.
Top teams: Richard Montgomery 68, Gaithersburg 52, Walter Johnson and Whitman, tie, 38, Quince Orchard 35. -->