2004 Olympian Paul Terek will attempt to win his third consecutive U.S. men's national indoor crown this weekend at the 2005 USA Indoor Combined Events Championships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The men's heptathlon competition will begin Saturday at 2:00 p.m., with the women's pentathlon competition beginning at Noon on Sunday. The final events of the men's heptathlon will begin Sunday at 1 p.m.

Terek ended the first day of the men's heptathlon competition last year in fourth place before storming back on the second day to win the men's title for the second year in a row with 6,040 points. Former University of Tennessee standout and 2003 NCAA decathlon champion Stephen Harris was the runner-up with 5,989 points, after ending the first day of competition in second place.

Terek set a decathlon personal best at the 2004 Olympic Trials (8,312 points) before placing 21st at the Olympic Games in Athens with 7,893 points. Named the 2002 Big Ten Athlete of the Year as a senior at Michigan State University, Terek won the 2003 U.S. men's indoor crown by totaling 5,870 points, giving him a 139-point margin over runner-up Jeff Sander. Terek used that performance as a springboard to a strong outdoor season, highlighted by a third-place finish at the 2003 USA Outdoor Championships (8,275 points). Later that summer Terek placed 12th at the World Outdoor Championships in Paris, France.

Terek should face a strong challenge from Stephen Moore, who placed fifth in the decathlon at the 2004 Olympic Trials (7,917 points), and also keep an eye on Ryan Harlan, who as a senior at Rice University, won the 2004 NCAA Division I decathlon title with a personal best of 8,171 points.

In the women's pentathlon competition, 2003 NCAA heptathlon champion, 2004 NCAA long jump champion and '04 heptathlon runner- up, Hyleas Fountain, enters as the favorite. Fountain placed fourth at the 2004 Olympic Trials, barely missing a spot on the Olympic Taem. At Chapel Hill, she will face Michelle Moran, who placed sixth at last year's Olympic Trials heptathlon and was runner-up at the Indoor Combined Events Championship last year with 4,093 points. Also look for Olympic Trials sixth-place finisher Virginia "GiGi" Miller and 10th place finisher Fiona Asigbee, who was third at this event last year with 4,041 points. Jackie Poulson, who placed fourth last year with 4,026 points, is also in the field.