The second largest crowd ever for an Oregon Preview meet showed up at newly remodeled Hayward Field last Saturday afternoon for the first outdoor meet of what is certain be a memorable season for Oregon track and field fans. Director of Track and Field Vin Lanana had to pleased with the improvements made to the historic facility over the past nine months. A new track surface was laid, the infield configuration for the shot and javelin were rearranged to allow the discus to be moved from an adjoining venue into the main stadium and a state of the art scoreboard was installed at the south end of the facility.

With fewer than 100 days remaining before the US Olympic Track and Field Trials will be held at the historic venue, the meet offered organizers and volunteers their first opportunity to test the logistics and scoring systems to insure smooth operations during the showcase event this June.

As for the meet itself, University of Oregon freshman Jamesha Youngblood posted the school's second-best triple jump mark of all time in her collegiate outdoor debut to highlight the Ducks' performances. Her winning jump of 41 feet 11 ¼ inches came on her third attempt and is just 6 ¾ inch off the school standard.

"Jamesha is a very talented athlete and I thought she looked great," said Oregon Associate Head Coach Dan Steele told goDucks.com. "We are all going to have a lot of fun watching her progress throughout the year"

Other notable Duck performances included Phil Alexander's meet record 21.04 in the 200 meters. Brianne Theisen claimed first place finishes in the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump.  Alexandria Kosinski placed second in the women's 1,500 with a time of 4:23.33 and redshirt freshman Diego Mercado finished first in the men's 3,000 posting a time of 8:18.26.