The 2003 and 2004 seasons were uneventful but she matured as a senior athlete the following two seasons, taking sixth place in the NCAA championships in 2005 and improving to third place in 2006. She also finished fifth at the national outdoor championships that year. The 2007 season represented a significant progression: her personal best reached over 6000 points for the first time and she was ranked as the number one American heptathlete by Track and Field News. She was runner-up at the national outdoor championships, and also runner-up in the indoor championships in the pentathlon. She was part of the American team for the 2007 World Championships and, although she finished 25th, it was the best performance by an American in the event.[1][2]
After taking third at the 2008 Olympic trials with a personal best of 6,257 points, she represented the United States at the 2008 Summer Olympics. However, she strained her hamstring in the first event (100 meter hurdles) and failed to finish the competition.[1][2] At the 2009 national championships, an injury to the favourite Hyleas Fountain resulted in Pickler's first senior national title. She took first place with event bests in the 800 meters and shot put, and a personal heptathlon best of 6290 points, finishing ahead of Sharon Day and Bettie Wade.[3]
Other appearances
Pickler appeared at the 7th KUNOICHI competition (known in the US as Women of Ninja Warrior) in the summer of 2007, but failed on the Log Jam in the first stage when her foot hit the water as she tried to climb back onto a log after losing her balance.
