Many of America's finest collegiate athletes will compete for Team USA at the 2006 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) U-23 Track and Field Championships July 5-7 at the Panamerican Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Five hundred athletes from 28 countries will compete in the fourth edition of the championships. The NACAC Athletic Association's U23 Championships are held every two years in one of the 32 member nations of the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association, one of six regional athletics associations affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Team USA wins big at 2004 NACAC

Team USA dominated the action at the 2004 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Track & Field Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.

More than 400 athletes from 28 countries were on hand for the competition, where U.S. athletes won 28 gold medals, 21 silver medals and 9 bronze medals, for an overall total of 58 medals.

Team USA fell short of the medal tally amassed from the 2002 NACAC squad that competed in San Antonio, Texas. At that event U.S. athletes won 11 competitions on the final day to finish with 30 gold medals to lead the overall medal table with 67.

Team USA stars look for repeat performance

Consisting of many of the country's top emerging-elite athletes, this year's squad will feature eight NCAA champions, three of whom are defending their 2004 NACAC titles. The following is glimpse at some of the Team USA stars to keep an eye on:

*Two-time NCAA champion and two-time USA Outdoor runner-up Dana Pounds will go for gold in the women's javelin. Pounds will be defending her title from 2004.

*Two-time NCAA Division II champion Keith Moffatt will return to defend his title in the men's high jump.

*NCAA champion Ryan Brown will vie for the crown in the men's 800 meters. Joining him in the hunt will be Duane Solomon, who finished fifth at NCAAs.

*Amy Lia, fresh off her victory at the NCAA Championships, looks to take on the field in the women's 1,500 meters.

*Rhodes Scholar and NCAA champion Garrett Johnson will contend for the title in the men's shot put.

*NCAA 200 meter champion Shalonda Solomon will race for top honors in the women's 100 and 200 meters.

*Jackie Johnson hope to ride her victory wave from the NCAA Championships a little bit longer and is back to defend her crown in the women's heptathlon.

*NCAA Division II champion Andrew Vogelsberg, the 2004 NACAC champion, will face stiff competition from compatriot and NCAA Division I runner-up Eric Brown.

Also keep an eye out for 2003 Pan Am Junior 110 and 400 meter hurdle champion Kenneth Ferguson, who will compete in the men's 400mH. David Nevillle, who finished third at NCAA's and the USA Outdoor Championships, will be a force in the men's 400 meters. 2005 USA Outdoor champion Erica McClain will compete in the women's triple jump, and Michelle Carter, the 2004 World Junior gold medalist, is a favorite in the women's shot put. Leonel Manzano, who finished fourth at NCAAs and an astonishing third at the USA Outdoor Championships, will compete in the men's 1,500 meters.

Head coach for the U.S. men's team is longtime William Penn (Pa.) HS coach Tim Hickey (now retired), and the women's head coach is Barbara Edmondson, who was an assistant coach for the 2002 IAAF World Cup. Head managers are Doug Wells (men) and Kim Keenan- Kirkpatrick (women).

Team USA Roster - 2006 NACAC U23 Track and Field Championships

Athlete (Hometown, Current Residence) - School/Affiliation

Men

100m: Carlos Moore (Inglewood, Calif., N/A) - SoCal Cheetahs

Chris Hargrett (Orlando, Fla., Talahassee, Fla.) - Florida A&M

200m: Otis McDaniel (San Antonio, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas) - Texas Christian Univ.

Mike Cooley (Prichard, Ala., Tuscaloosa, Ala.) - Alabama

400m: David Neville (Merrillville, Ind., Bloomington, Ind.) - Indiana

Lionel Larry (Compton, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC

800m: Ryan Brown (Renton, Wash., Seattle, Wash.) - Washington

Duane Solomon (Lompoc, Calif., Los Angeles, Calf.) - USC

1,500m: Shane Stroup (Highland, Md., Gainesville, Fla.) - Florida

Leonel Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas, Austin, Texas) - Texas

5,000m: Aaron Aguayo (Phoenix, Ariz., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU

Giliat Ghebray (Union City, Calif., Berkeley, Calif.) UC Berkeley

10,000m: John Moore (Olympia, Wash., Portland, Ore.) - Portland

David Jankowski (Idaho Falls, Idaho, Stillwater, Okla.) - Oklahoma State

110mH: Jason Richardson (Cedar Hill, Texas, Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina

Dominic Berger (Mitchellville, Md., College Park, Md.) - Maryland

400mH: Ken Ferguson (Detroit, Mich., Los Angeles, Calif.) - adidas

Reuben McCoy (Sicklerville, N.J., Auburn, Ala.) - Auburn

3,000m Steeplechase: Ryan Warrenburg (Franklin, Ind., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU

Corey Nowitzke (Monroe, Mich., Ypsilanti, Mich.) - Eastern Michigan

20 km race walk: Patrick Stroupe (Fayette, Mo., Fayette, Mo.) - Central Missouri

Zachary Pollinger (Mahwah, N.J., Cambridge, Mass.) - Harvard

High Jump: Keith Moffatt (Newport News, Va., Newport News, Va.) - Morehouse

Dusty Jonas (LaVernia, Texas, Lincoln, Neb.) - Nebraska

Pole Vault: Jimmie Heath (Rio Hondo, Texas, Lake Charles, La.) - McNeese State

Brad Gebauer (Bad Axe, Mich., East Lansing, Mich.) - Michigan State

Long Jump: Reggie Lazenby (Tyler, Texas, Nacogdoches, Texas) - Stephen F. Austin

Michael Morrison (Willingboro, N.J., Gainesville, Fla.) - Florida

Triple Jump: Mike Whitehead (Norristown, Pa., Ann Arbor, Mich.) - Michigan

John Temidara (Santa Fe Springs, Calif., Long Beach, Calif.) - Long Beach State

Shot Put: Garrett Johnson (Tampa, Fla., Tallahassee, Fla.) - Florida State

Russ Winger (Colorado Springs, Colo., Moscow, Idaho) - Idaho

Discus Throw: Adam Kuehl (Monmouth, N.J., Tucson, Ariz.) - Arizona

Rashaud Scott (N/A, Mesa, Ariz.) - Mesa CC

Hammer Throw: Jake Dunkleberger (Smyrna, Ga., Auburn, Ala.) - Auburn

Nick Owens (Shelton, Wash., Chapel Hill, N.C.) UNC

Javelin: Eric Brown (Baldwin City, Kan., Fayetteville, Ark.) - Arkansas

Andrew Vogelsberg (Home, Kan., Emporia, Kan.) - Emporia State

Decathlon: Chris Richardson (Pensacola, Fla., Long Beach, Calif.) - Long Beach State

Brandon Hoskins (Garden City, Texas, Lynchburg, Va.) - Liberty

4x100m relay pool: Garry Jones (Oakland, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC

Greg Bolden (Morrow, Ga., Tallahassee, Fla.) - Florida State

4x400m relay pool: Reggie Dardar (Cecilia, La., Baton Rouge, La.) - LSU

Carey LaCour (Humble, Texas, Houston, Texas) - Houston

Women

100m: Shalonda Solomon (Inglewood, Calif, Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina

Cleo Tyson (Huntsville, Texas, Knoxville, Tenn.) - Tennessee

200m: Shalonda Solomon (Inglewood, Calif, Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina

Antonette Carter (Concord, Calif., Berkeley, Calif.) - UC Berkeley

400m: Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y., State College, Pa.) - Penn State

Natasha Hastings (Rosedale, N.Y., Columbia, S.C.) - South Carolina

800m: Alysia Johnson (Canyon Country, Calif., Berkeley, Calif.) - UC Berkeley

Leslie Treherne (Chesapeake, Va., Knoxville, Tenn.) - Tennessee

1,500m: Shannon Rowbury (San Francisco, Calif., Durham, N.C.) - Duke

Amy Lia (Bothell, Wash., Seattle, Wash.) - Washington

5,000m: Desiraye Osburn (Lyndon, Kan., Wichita, Kan.) - Wichita State

Jenna Kingma (San Luis Obispo, Calif., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU

10,000m: Stephanie Rothstein (Phoenix, Ariz., Santa Barbara, Calif.) - UC Santa Barbara

100mH: Dawn Harper (East St. Louis, Ill., Los Angeles, Calif.) - UCLA

Ashley Lodree (Richmond, Calif., Seattle, Wash.) - Washington

400mH: Erin Crawford (Hillsborough, N.J., Charlottesville, Va.) - UVA

Julianna Reed (Gibsonia, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa.) - Pittsburgh

3,000m Steeplechase: Cassie King (Kernersville, N.C., Chapel Hill, N.C.) - UNC

Anna Willard (Greenwood, Maine, Providence, R.I.) - Brown

10 km race walk: Maria Michta (Nesconset, N.Y., N/A) - Walk USA

Lauren Davis (Zion, Ill., Parkside, Wisc.) - Wisconsin, Parkside

High Jump: Sarah Wilfred (Brockton, Mass., Ithaca, N.Y.) - Cornell

Natalie Sako (Parma, Ohio, Akron, Ohio) - Akron

Pole Vault: Jodi Unger (Abilene, Texas, Fayetteville, Ark.) - Arkansas

Emily Enders (Snohomish, Wash., Eugene, Ore.) - Univ. of Oregon

Long Jump: Kierra Foster (West Palm Beach, Fla., College Park, Md.) - Maryland

Brenda Faluade (Katy, Texas, Miami, Fla.) - Miami

Triple Jump: Yvette Lewis (Newport News, Va., Hampton, Va.) - Hampton

Erica McClain (Plano, Texas, Palo Alto, Calif.) - Stanford

Shot Put: Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas, Austin, Texas) - Texas

Amarachi Ukabam (Creve Coeur, Mo., Carbondale, Ill.) - Southern Illinois

Discus Throw: Kate Hutchinson (San Clemente, Calif., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC

Amarachi Ukabam (Creve Coeur, Mo., Carbondale, Ill.) - Southern Illinois

Hammer Throw: Britney Henry (Spokane, Wash., Eugene, Ore.) - Univ. of Oregon

Brittany Riley (Flossmoor, Ill., Carbondale, Ill.) - Southern Illinois

Javelin: Dana Pounds (Lexington, Ky., Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Air Force

Kara Patterson (Vancouver, Wash., West Lafayette, Ind.) - Purdue

Heptathlon: Jackie Johnson (Yuma, Ariz., Tempe, Ariz.) - ASU

Tracy Partain (Springfield, Mo., Springfield, Mo.) - Missouri State

4x100m relay pool: Brooklyn Morris (Houston, Texas, Baton Rouge, La.) - LSU

Shareese Woods (Fort Lee, Va., Charlotte, N.C.) - UNC Charlotte

Jessica Onyepunuka (Peoria, Ariz., Los Angeles, Calif.) - USC

4x400m relay pool: Ashley Kidd (St. Petersburg, Fla., Atlanta, Ga.) - Georgia Tech

Deonna Lawrence (Elk Grove, Calif., Baton Rouge, La.) - LSU

For more information on the 2006 U23 NACAC Track and Field Championships, visit www.usatf.org.