INDIANAPOLIS - Paul Terek and Tiffany Lott-Hogan successfully defended their respective men's and women's titles Sunday at the 2004 USA Indoor Combined Events Championships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Terek ended the first day of competition in fourth place before storming back Sunday to win the men's title 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. 2002 USA Outdoor Championships decathlon third place finisher Phil McMullen was third with 5,898 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 last year's performance as a springboard to the finest outdoor season of his career, highlighted by a third-place finish at the 2003 USA Outdoor Championships, where he posted a personal best decathlon total of 8,275 points. Later that summer Terek placed 12th at the World Outdoor Championships in Paris, France.

Terek dominated the pole vault on Sunday with his clearance of 5.41 meters/17 feet, 9 inches, as only fourth place finisher David Lemen (5,711 points) joined him over the 17-foot barrier with his clearance of 5.31m/17-5.

2003 World Outdoor Championships decathlon gold medalist Tom Pappas, who led after the first day of competition, did not compete in the pole vault on Sunday, choosing to rest his right shoulder following surgery to remove cartilage on January 27.

In the women's pentathlon competition, Lott-Hogan, the 1998 NCAA heptathlon champion and 1999 World University Games gold medalist, won the event with 4,224 points over runner-up Michelle Moran (4,093 points). Fiona Asigbee was third with 4,041 points, with Jackie Poulson fourth with 4,026 points.

Out of the five women's events contested on Sunday, Lott-Hogan won three of them. Her wins were in the 60 meters (7.99 seconds), the shot put (14.38m/47-2.25) and the long jump (5.84m/19-2). Lott-Hogan won last year's event by posting an American seasonal best with 4,317 points prior to her strong 2003 outdoor season, where she placed third n the heptathlon at the USA Outdoor Championships, and won the gold medal at the Pan American Games.

For more information on the 2004 USA Indoor Combined Events Championships, including the complete results, visit www.usatf.org.