Big Doings at Preview

Posted by Ken Goe, The Oregonian March 22, 2008 17:58PM

There were some startlingly good performances Saturday at the Oregon Preview, normally a low-key meet.

Annie Hess, the NAIA reigning discus champion, set a 10-foot personal record to win with a throw of an even 183 feet.

For perspective's sake, that was good enough to beat her training partner, Indian national champion Krishna Poonia and would make her the Oregon school record-holder if she competed for the Ducks.

Freshman Jamesha Youngblood, competing outdoors for the first time in a UO uniform, won the triple jump with a mark of 41 feet 11 1/4, the second-best mark in school history.

Afterward, Youngblood raved about the supportive UO crowd, as every track athlete seems to do after a Hayward Field baptism. Youngblood is going to be one of those athletes who will be long-remembered by UO fans, assuming she stays healthy. She is special.