March 10, 2000

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The NCAA Track Championships began Friday, with some of the nation's finest athletes competing for the highest prize in collegiate competition, a national championship. Maryland's junior high jumper, Vanessa Jones, will get her chance on Saturday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Jones will take part in the high jump competition at 4:15 p.m. tomorrow. She will be one of 18 striving for the high jump championship. The top eight American finishers earn All-America honors.

Jones earned a spot in the competition with a personal-best jump of 5-11 1/2 at the Eastern Colleges of America Conference (ECAC) Championships last weekend. That mark would have earned Jones a top 10 finish at last year's NCAA Championships.

Competition begins at 2 p.m. tomorrow and concludes at 8 p.m.