Long Jump

McDonogh's Gross good as four golds Sport Track and field BOYS Senior Jason Gross accounted for 40 of McDonogh's 83 points by collecting four gold medals as the No. 4 Eagles placed fourth at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championships at Calvert Hall on Saturday. He captured the 200 meters in 22.30 seconds, the 400 in 51.27, the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 4 1/2 inches and the triple jump with 44-3 1/2 . Gross' victory in the long jump wasn't sealed until his final attempt, when he moved from fourth to first with that distance.

Westminster's stranglehold on the Carroll County track and field championships continued yesterday as the Owls dominated the field events at Western Maryland College. The boys team won its 20th straight championship, defeating runner-up South Carroll, 134-91, and the girls team flagged down its seventh straight title, defeating runner-up South Carroll, 149-85 1/2 . "It wasn't as close with South Carroll as I thought it'd be," Owls boys coach Jim Shank said. "Our 1-2 finish in the discus was a surprise, and you can't replace a 1-2-3 finish in the pole vault.

This one will take some time to get used to.As the evening wore on last night in Eldersburg, it became more and more apparent the Westminster boys reign of seven straight Central Maryland Conference championships was coming to an end.For the first time since the league came into existence -- back in 1988 -- a boys champion other than Westminster stepped forward to claim the top prize.And the winner was Linganore, who edged the Owls, 183-169, behind a strong effort in the field events.The performer of the night was Frederick's Michelle Higginbottom, who swept the three -- events and won the long jump to lead the Cadets to the girls championship.

Performer of the YearAlisha McClinton, Perry Hall, Senior: McClinton, a repeat All-Metro selection, set three Baltimore County records this spring, including the 100-meter dash (11.88), 200 dash (24.59) and the long jump (19 feet, 5 inches). She is the four-time county champion in the long jump and 100 and the two-time defending '' county champ in the 200. Her 10 county titles make her the winningest track athlete in Baltimore County history. The Georgia Tech-bound star ran states with sprained ligaments in her foot and still managed to finish second in both the 100 (11.88)

YesterdayTrack: It was the greatest day in the history of U.S. Olympic track: five events, nine medals, four of them golds. Carl Lewis won a gold medal in the long jump -- his third gold medal in three Olympics. Dave Johnson was a study in courage, finishing third in the decathlon while competing on an ankle with a stress fracture. Kevin Young broke Edwin Moses' 9-year-old record in the 400 meter hurdlers. Gail Devers fell on her last hurdle and lost a certain gold. Gwen Torrence ran a race instead of her mouth as the United States won both the men's and women's 200 meters.

The River Hill boys and the Long Reach girls were the leaders after yesterday's opening round of the county track and field championships at River Hill.River Hill holds a 35-30 lead over Wilde Lake on the strength of the 20 points it scored in the 3,200-meter run in which Mike Prada finished first (9: 54.8), Mike Stycznski (9: 57.2) second and Mike Fleg fifth. The Hawks also scored eight points for finishing second in the 3,200 relay and five points for Brad Tomaski's fourth-place long jump.

Old Mill has established itself as the county's team to beat in baseball this year with its experience, pitching depth and solid lineup. The Patriots got off to a 2-0 start in nonleague games last week in preparation for the start of this week's county schedule. No. 2 Old Mill opened with victories over defending Class 4A East region champion and perennial Charles County power Thomas Stone, 17-8, and then defeated No. 7 Archbishop Spalding, 8-5. "It's early, but this team has to establish its own identity," said Old Mill's 27th-year coach, Mel Montgomery.

Mayo Elementary School Principal Victoria Waidner won five medals in the Maryland Senior Olympics last week and will compete in the National Senior Olympics next spring.She received silver medals in standing and running long jump; and bronze in shot put, discus and javelin."I was at the top of my age group, so I didn't know how I was going to do. I'm thankful," Waidner, 59, said.Although she won no gold medals, she said her showing was good "for a girl who did no sports" as a child.Waidner is a five-time Senior Olympian who has racked up 26 medals in the amateur contests.