39TH L.A. INVITATIONAL ALREADY A GRAY AREA.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

Johnny Gray has competed throughout the world and in four Olympics during his career. The L.A. Invitational indoor meet at the Sports Arena, however, holds special significance for the 1992 Olympic bronze medalist.

Gray, who will soon turn 39, will be seeking an unprecedented sixth victory in the L.A. Invitational tonight when he competes in the 800 meters at the 39th annual event. No other athlete has won the half-mile more than three times.

For Gray however, who won his first L.A. Invitational in 1985 and is the three-time defending champion, the meet's proximity to his Agoura Hills home offers the most incentive to return year after year to the banked boards of the Sports Arena track.

``It's hard to run at your best when you have been traveling on a plane for 12 hours and living out of your suitcase in Europe,'' Gray said. ``I find I run my best races close to home when I can sleep in my own bed, get in my car and drive to the meet in an hour.''

Gray's indoor performances at the L.A. and San Diego invitationals would attest to that. In the 1985 L.A. Invitational, Gray set the world indoor record of 1 minute, 46.8 seconds in the 880 yards. At the 1986 San Diego meet, Gray clocked 2:04.39 for the world indoor 1,000-yard standard. Both marks stand as world bests for a 160-yard track. Gray has also held the American outdoor record at 1:42.60 since 1985.

Tonight, Gray will face a field which includes Santa Monica Track Club teammates Isaac Turner, the 1997 Pacific-10 champion from USC, and Jean Destine and UCLA's Jess Strutzel, who finished second to Gray in the San Diego Invitational on Jan. 23.

The L.A. Invitational, sponsored by the Daily News, is part of USA Track & Field's four-meet Golden Spike Tour. The series that began with the Millrose Games on Feb. 5 also includes the D.C. Invitational and the USATF Indoor Championships in Atlanta later this month.

This year's L.A. Invitational will boast its strongest field since 1986 when four world records were set within two hours, according to meet co-chairman Don Franken. In all, the competition will feature five Olympic gold medalists and world-record holders as well as 23 athletes ranked among the world's top 10 in 1998.

In the men's 50 meters, Maurice Greene, the 1997 World Champion in the 100 meters, will face 1998 national champion Tim Harden. Harden won the 100 meters at the USATF outdoor championships in New Orleans in June in the absence of Greene, ranked No. 1 in the world, who scratched from the competition because of cramps.

Valencia's Mark Crear, the world's top-ranked 110-meter high hurdler, will face national champion Reggie Torian and Dan O'Brien in the men's 50-meter high hurdles. O'Brien, the world record-holder in the decathlon, will also compete in the long jump.

In other circuit events, Jeff Hartwig, the U.S. record-holder in the pole vault, and former national record-holder Lawrence Johnson head a field of seven of the top 10 vaulters in the U.S. Inger Miller and Chryste Gaines, members of the U.S. 1996 Olympic gold medal 400-meter relay and the 1997 World Championship team which won in an American record, will go head-to-head in the women's 50 meters.

The high school competition will feature nearly 2,000 athletes. Blaine Bussey of Taft could challenge the meet record in the boys' 500 yards. Bussey, a senior, won the event in 57.3 at the San Diego Invitational to move into a three-way tie for second on the all-time high school list.

Lauren Fleshman of Canyon, the 1998 state Division I cross country champion, and Bridget Pearson of Hoover, the 1997 state girls' pole vault champion, are also scheduled to compete. Oliver Jackson of Royal and Tim Adrian of Moorpark, the defending Ventura County champions in the long jump and discus, highlight the field events.

Tiffany Burgess of Birmingham, the three-time City Section 1,600-meter champion, and Lisa Wygant of Camarillo, defending Southern Section Division I high jump champion, are other entrants.

L.A. INVITATIONAL

Where: Sports Arena.

When: Five Olympic gold medalists are scheduled to compete today in the second-oldest indoor meet in the nation, which is part of the four-meet Golden Spike Tour. Competition begins at 9 a.m. with the boys' discus and girls' shot put at USC. Open competition starts at 4:55 p.m. with the women's 50-meter heats.

Information: www.la-invitational.com

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Photo, Box

Photo: Maurice Green (1153), shown here winning the 100 meters at the 1997 World Championships, is ranked No. 1 in the world at 50 meters and will compete tonight in the L.A. Invitational at the Sports Arena.

Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News

Box: L.A. INVITATIONAL (See Text)