INDIANAPOLIS – The 2002 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will begin with three days of multi-event competition on Tuesday, June 7 at the University of California’s Edwards Stadium/Goldman Field in Berkeley, California. Before top stars Dan O’Brien, Tom Pappas, Shelia Burrell and DeDee Nathan begin two-day decathlon and heptathlon competition on Wednesday, June 19, America’s top Junior multi-event performers will take center stage at the USA Junior Combined Events National Championships, June 18-19.

Headlining the Junior competition are heptathletes Julie and Diana Pickler, both members of the Texas Express (Sasche). Diana is the defending U.S. Junior heptathlon champion (5,261 points), while sister Julie finished third at last year’s competition with 5,147 points. Following their performances at the 2001 Junior Championships, the sisters earned a trip to the Canadian Junior Combined Events Championships, where they finished 1-2. The sisters also competed against each other at the 2001 USATF Junior Olympics Nationals, where again Diana (5,365) edged Julie (5,068) for the title. After this week’s multi-event competition, Julie and Diana will compete in the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump at the USA Junior Championships at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Along with her success in the heptathlon, 100m hurdles and long jump, as of May 28, Diana owns the fastest 300m hurdles time (41.17) for a high schooler this season. The Picklers will attend Washington State University in the fall.

The Junior men’s decathlon field is led by the Verizon Outstanding Athlete of the Meet at the 2001 USATF Junior Olympics Nationals, Donovan Kilmartin, who is making his first appearance at the USA Junior Nationals. Kilmartin won the decathlon at last year’s Junior Olympics with a national youth record score of 7,405 points. In the same meet, Kilmartin, from Meridian, Idaho, also won his division in the pole vault with a clearance of 5.00 meters/16-4.75. Last July Kilmartin won the pole vault competition at the 2001 USATF Youth Athletics Championships by clearing 4.75m/15-7. After the multi-events competition in Berkeley this week, Kilmartin will compete in the pole vault at the Junior Championships in Palo Alto.

In senior competition, the U.S. had two outstanding performances in the women’s heptathlon at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships in Edmonton, Canada, where Sheila Burrell won the bronze medal with a personal record total of 6,472 points, and DeDee Nathan placed seventh in Edmonton with a total of 6,073 points, after winning her second consecutive U.S. title (6,174 points) in June. Both will compete at Stanford.

Burrell appears ready for this week’s competition after posting the best performance in the world this year of 6,363 points earlier this month in Gotzis. Also entered in the event are two of the highest finishers at the 2001 NCAA Championships at Louisiana State University. The University of South Carolina’s Tacita Bass was third (5,622 points) in Baton Rouge, while the University of Arkansas’ Dee Brown placed fifth (5,450 points). Heather Sterlin, who placed fifth at the 2001 Nationals, also should be a factor.

Tom Pappas enters the men’s decathlon competition after a recent personal best performance of 8,583 points in Gotzis, the third-best performance in the world this year. After winning the decathlon at the 2000 Olympic Trials (8,467), and then placing fifth at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney (8,425), Pappas’ injured shoulder kept him from completing the decathlon at last year’s USA Outdoors. Pappas bounced back in fine style later that summer to win the bronze medal at the 2002 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia.

One of the more intriguing stories of the competition will be the comeback of 1996 Olympic Gold medalist and American record holder Dan O’Brien, who last completed a decathlon in winning the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City, with 8,755 points. A three-time World decathlon champion, O’Brien owns five U.S. crowns.

Others to watch include ageless wonder Kip Janvrin, who won his first USA decathlon crown last year in Eugene at the age of 35. A 2000 Olympian, Janvrin won his 13th Drake Relays decathlon title earlier this year. Others to watch include Bryan Clay, who was third at this event last year, and two-time PAC-10 Conference champion Bevan Hart, who was ninth in 2001. Last year’s U.S. runner-up Phil McMullen is also in the field, along with 2002 NCAA second-place finisher Paul Terek of Michigan State (8,041).

For more information on the 2002 USA Outdoor Championships, visit: www.usatf.org.