Former San Marcos track & field star Allie Jones is the Pac-12 champion in the heptathlon.
Jones won Stanford’s first conference heptathlon title in 23 years and became the school’s fourth different champion in the multi-event competition.
She scored 5,731 points in the seven events held over two days at Oregon’s Hayward Field last weekend.
Jones holds the Stanford record of 5,832 points, which she set last month at the Mt. SAC Relays. She ranks No. 4 in NCAA Division I, No. 4 in the world, and No. 2 among Americans this year. The top 24 at the end of the season advance to the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Eugene, Oregon.
The last Stanford heptathlon champion was also from the Santa Barbara area, Tracye Lawyer. The Cate alum won three straight titles from 1997-99 and held the previous school record. The Cardinal hepatahlon champions are Peggy Odita (1990) and Denise Gaztambide (1986).
Jones set one lifetime best at the Pac-12 Championships, throwing the javelin 129-0 (39.33m), a six-foot improvement, to place fourth. She won the 100 hurdles (13.43) and 200 meters (24.50) and finished second in the high jump (5-7). Her lowest placement was a seventh in the shot put (36-5.75).
Jones defeated Colorado’s Avery McMullen by 51 points. McMullen needed to make up a 65-point deficit in the 800 meters to overtake Jones. But Jones beat her by more than six seconds to take the title.
Jones told reporters that she was relaxed going into the Pac-12 meet.
“I wanted to go in relaxed, having already qualified for nationals,” she said. “I just wanted to execute the little things on certain events, just to tighten up before nationals. It was good.”
Among the events she fine-tuned were the long jump (third at 18-9.25), high jump (second at 5-7) and javelin.
Jones’ second-day total of 2,280 points was a personal best.
Allie Jones at the Pac-12 Championships (event, place in event, mark, points, place in competition):
First day: 100 hurdles – 1, 13.43, 1,060 (1); High jump – 2, 5-7 (1.70m), 855 (1); Shot put – 7, 36-5 ¾ (11.12m), 603 (1); 200 – 1, 24.50, 933 (1). First-day total: 3,451.
Second day: Long jump – 3, 18-9 ¼ (5.72m), 765 (1); Javelin – 4, 129-0 (39.33m) (PB), 654 (1); 800 – 4, 2:17.29, 861. Second-day total: 2,280 (ties PB). Total: 5,731.