Wilkerson Extended Invitation To Team USA Camp
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- USA Softball announced Sunday that 20 additional players, including Mississippi State outfielder and three-time all-American Kellie Wilkerson, have been selected to participate in a team camp, May 30-June 3, at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. These players will join the 22 athletes selected in January to compete for spots on teams that will represent the U.S. in international competition this summer. An additional 10-18 players will be added to the camp during the first week of May. Wilkerson will join three other former or current SEC players at the camp, including Kelly Kretschman (Alabama), Trena Peel (LSU) and Britni Sneed (LSU). Sneed and Peel are currently seniors with the Purple and Gold. It is the second consecutive invitation issued to Wilkerson, who competed on a limited basis at last year's camp due to a lower back injury. Two teams will be selected following the team camp in May/June. One will represent the USA at the U.S. Cup in Honolulu, HI, (July 4-7), the Canada Cup in Surrey, B.C., Canada (July 16-21) and the ISF Women's World Championship in Saskatoon, Canada (July 25-August 4). The second team selected will be called the USA Softball Elite Team, and it will help prepare the World Championship team for international events by competing in scrimmages and exhibition games prior to these events. The Elite Team will also compete in the Canada Cup. When the USA takes the field in July in Saskatoon it will be going for its fifth consecutive World Championship. The USA will also be looking to qualify for its third consecutive top seed at the Olympics, which will be held in Greece in 2004. USA Softball Women's National Teams have been among the most dominating of any sports team in history. The USA's ability to bring home the title in World Championships, Pan American Games and the Olympics is unchallenged, with a total of 13 gold medals. The USA Softball Women's National Team won the first Olympic gold medal in the sport's history during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, GA, and defended its gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The USA Softball Women's National Team, which has won the past four consecutive World Championships, the past four consecutive Pan Am Games and the past two Olympic gold medals, is the undisputed No. 1 team in the world. As the National Governing Body of Softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting, women's men's, junior girls' and junior boys' National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions.