Terek, Fountain favored at USA Indoor Combined Events Championships
Posted Friday, 7 March, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS - Paul Terek will look for his fourth men's indoor heptathlon national title and Hyleas Fountain will attempt to win her second career indoor pentathlon crown this weekend at the 2008 USA Indoor Combined Events Championships at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
A 2004 Olympian, Terek led the men's heptathlon from Day 1 at last year's event with 3,267 points after four events. He held off 2002 NCAA DIII decathlon champion Chris Boyles to win his third indoor title with 5,960 points to Boyles' 5,702. Terek is the first to ever win this event three times, with his other titles occurring in 2003 and 2004.
Terek showed he is in fine form at last month's AT&T USA Indoor Championships, winning the event with a total of 5,960 points, for a whopping winning margin of 258 points over runner-up Chris Boyles, who will look for his first win at this event beginning Saturday.
Top challengers include two-time NCAA decathlon champion Jake Arnold, who finished third at the 2006 and 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and Stephen Moore, who won this event in 2001 and owns the leading personal best among the 11 entrants with a total of 6,132 points.
The men's indoor heptathlon consists of the 60m dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m run.
The women's pentathlon competition on Sunday will be headlined by reigning USA Outdoor heptathlon champion Hyleas Fountan, who will look to add another championship to her trophy case. Fountain won this event in 2005, totaling 4,417 points to finish in front of 2007 champion Fiona Asigbee, who was the runner-up with 4,347 points.
Look for the Pickler twins, Diana and Julie, to provide a strong challenge to Fountain on Sunday. Diana ended the 2007 campaign ranked #1 in the U.S. by Track & Field News in the women's heptathlon, while sister Julie was the 2007 NCAA Outdoor heptathlon runner-up and ended last year ranked #7 in the U.S. Also keep an eye on Ryanne Dupree, who placed sixth at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships and eighth at the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships.
The women's pentathlon competition will consist of the 60m hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800 meters.
The men's heptathlon will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday the women's pentathlon will kickoff the action at Noon, with the final three events of the men's competition beginning at 1 p.m.
For more information on the 2008 USA Indoor Combined Events Championships, visit www.usatf.org
Contact:
Tom Surber
Media Information Manager
USA Track & Field
317-713-4690
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