Laughter and cheering filled SF State's Cox Stadium on a windy but sunny Saturday morning, and the flashy colors of team tracksuits attracted the attention of visitors and students on campus.

Cox Stadium, the home of the Gators, was in an unusual ebullience and frenzy for the first outdoor track and field event of the season, the Gator Preview.

From 9 a.m. to after 5 p.m., track and field clubs and teams from the Bay Area and beyond competed in various field and running events ranging from long jumps and discus throws to 100-meter hurdles and the 3000-meter run.

For the first outdoor event of the season some SF State athletes were sick with the flu and did not show up said coach Terry Burke.

Some of those who did participate were not in their best dispositions, but many did shine.

Slightly before noon, senior Gator Anna Bretan had a notable performance when she won the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:46.02, 70 hundredths of a second before the second place contestant.

This achievement was made more significant by the fact that though she was participating in her first 1500-meter run and had no reference time, she succeeded in provisionally qualifying for the nationals.

“Any time would have been a personal record,” Bretan said laughing. “I did not know I could run so fast but it felt good.”

Women's track and field assistant coach Tom Lyons called Bretan’s 1500-meter time "her lifetime best.”

Later in the afternoon, this long-distance runner and mother of two kids showed well again by earning second place in the 3000-meter run, 21 seconds after the winner. Freshman Tanya Ferriera finished 13th with a time of 5:02.79, while freshman Vanesa Zuzuarregui followed in 20th place with a time of 5:16.76.

The SF State team spirit paid off when the Gators took the second place of the 4x100 meter relay and won the 4x400 meter relay in 4:07.34, a time very similar to what these runners perform at indoor events.

The Gators lead the race before being caught in the third leg, but pulled it out at the end to rank first when Obiamaka Eke victoriously crossed the finish line.

Sophomore Maria Nelson finished third in the 100-meter dash and second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.94 seconds.

“Maria is a little behind her times, but it is fixable,” Burke said.

The throw events saw two Gators, freshman Marisa Garza and junior Sheila Cleland, take the second and third place respectively in the discus event. Cleland also threw the hammer 41.13 meters, a performance that placed her third in the event.

“I got two third places today so I am satisfied with myself,” Cleland said. “Hopefully, I will improve at the next meets. I know I can do a lot better.”

At the javelin throw event, junior Shawna Gildea finished second throwing the javelin at 37.94 meters.

Burke looked satisfied with some of his athletes’ performances.

“Anna [Bretan] did incredibly well. It’s outstanding for her,” he said.

Burke saw the meet more like another opportunity to practice and not so much as a really important event.

“I am not concerned about time,” Burke said. “I see this event more like a good workout, a hard training session.”

What concerned the Gator coach more were the technical problems that became apparent during the meet and delayed its end by almost two hours.

“The organization could have been better,” he said, revealing a problem between the laptop and the camera at the finish line. “It was old school—we had to use stop watches.”

These technical problems led to some timing errors in the 200-meter dash that SF State jump assistant coach Nadia Meyman, as well as other coaches and athletes, noticed. Meyman timed Gator Christine Nguyen with a time close to 27 seconds and she ended up with an official finish time of 25.77.

Aside from the technical shortcomings, Burke is also concerned about the increasing lack of officials at track and field meets.

“Two officials did not come and those who are present are volunteers,” Burke said. “It becomes more and more difficult to find people who still officiate.”

For the time being, Burke is focusing the team’s efforts in the biggest event of the season, the CCAA Championships, held May 1 to 3 in Los Angeles.