UMaine Photo Riley Masters

EUGENE, Ore. — A small yet competitive field of Maine athletes enjoyed fine performances at the U.S. National Track and Field championships at the University of Oregon over the weekend.

The junior division featured several college and high school athletes, including Riley Masters of Veazie, who qualified for the 1,500 meter finals by clocking the second-fastest time in the trials at 3 minutes, 50.89 seconds.

The University of Maine freshman had to settle for seventh in the finals, running 3:53.42. The top two finishers qualified for the Pan-American Games later this summer.

The other UMaine athlete competing was Jesse Labreck of Oakland, who was ninth in the 100 hurdle trials in 14.18 seconds.

Cumberland native Becky O’Brien, who recently finished up her freshman year at the University of North Carolina, threw the shot put 47 feet, 11¼ inches to place fifth.

The only Mainer to qualify for the Pan-Am Games was Abby Dunn of Edward Little High School in the 10-kilometer race walk, as she came in second in 56:47.86.

During competition Sunday, Shawn Crawford didn’t have to feel bad about winning a medal.

The sprinter who was awarded an Olympic medal he felt he didn’t deserve last year won a national title he most certainly does, blowing away the field in the 200-meter finals in a wind-aided time of 19.73 seconds.

Allyson Felix joined Crawford as America’s other 200-meter champion. A heavy favorite to win her fifth national title, Felix didn’t disappoint, finishing in 22.02 (also wind-aided) to edge out Muna Lee. Marshevet Hooker finished third.

Crawford blew away Charles Clark by .27 seconds to win his fourth national title, dating back to 2001. Wallace Spearmon finished third to nab the final spot on the U.S. team heading to worlds later this summer.

Tyson Gay has already qualified in the 100 and 200 thanks to his world championships in 2007.

While Gay may be America’s biggest sprint star, nobody has a more intriguing story than Crawford. The latest chapter for the 2004 Olympic champion came when he was awarded the silver medal at the Beijing Games after two runners who finished ahead of him were disqualified for running outside their lanes.

He never felt right about that, so he delivered the medal back to Churandy Martina — a burden off Crawford’s back, even though leaders in the sport refused to remove him from the record book.

Crawford will be among the headliners on a team that will also include newly crowned national champions Christian Cantwell (shot put), Bershawn Jackson (400 hurdles) Dawn Harper (100 hurdles) and Lopez Lomong (1,500 meters).

Bernard Lagat and Jeremy Wariner will also be on the team based on their 2007 championships even though neither won anything this weekend. Lagat ran only one heat of the 800 and Wariner was eliminated in the semifinals of the 200.

Other American stars not as lucky include 100-meter hurdler Lolo Jones, who fell in her semifinal heat, and Olympic heptathlon silver medalist Hyleas Fountain, who was leading before withdrawing with a neck injury.

Sprinter Walter Dix and decathlete Bryan Clay, who have four Olympic medals between them, were injured earlier in the week and will also miss the trip to Berlin.