Ashton Eaton's first two times competing in the decathlon at the USA Outdoor Championships yielded mixed results.

At the Olympic Trials in 2008, he was a blossoming talent who was just coming off a grueling victory at the NCAA Championships weeks earlier. He finished fifth and did not make the team. The following year, he once again came off NCAAs with a win and capitalized on an injury by Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay to qualify for the World Championships in Berlin.

The common denominator in those two meets: Inexperience.

But things have changed dramatically since then for Eaton. No longer the college kid trying to make his way in the world of international track and field, the first-year pro has the understanding and marks behind him now to make a significant impact in the sport's most difficult discipline, beginning this weekend in Eugene.