NEW YORK, NY - Many of America's finest club teams are set to battle at the 2005 USATF National Club Track & Field Championships, July 15-16 at Icahn Stadium in New York City. The meet is part of USATF's Club Championship Series, designed to help develop future elite athletes and promote the club/team aspect of track & field.

Last year, the Indiana Invaders (Ind.) repeated as champions as they successfully defended their men's and women's team titles. First Step Track Club (Fla.), Greater Boston Track Club (Mass.), and Kansas City Smoke (Mo.) all placed in the top three rankings.As additional teams enter this year's competition, fast times and good marks are expected at the venue. Icahn Stadium is a state-of-the-art, world-class facility located on Randall's Island, a 480-acre park anchoring Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. Earlier this season, the stadium hosted the Reebok Grand Prix, part of USATF's Visa Championship Series.

More than 600 competitors from 50 clubs and 20 states will compete at this year's club meet. Clubs with athletes entered in this championship include: Ashland Elite (Ohio), Atlanta TC (Ga.), Brooks Manhattan TC (N.Y.), Central Park TC (N.Y.), Clifton Park TC (N.Y.), Club Northwest (Wash.), Connecticut TC (Conn.), ConnQuest (Conn.), Creative Training Systems TC (N.Y.), CT. Racewalkers (Conn.), Essex Running Club (N.J.), Executive Track (N.Y.), Gateway Track Club of CT. (Conn.), Greater Boston TC (Mass.), High Performance Athletic Co. (N.J.), Javelin USA (Pa.), Lemans TC (N.Y.), Lords of the Rings (Wis.), Luke's Locker (Texas), Mercury Alabama TC (Ala.), Mid Atlantic Elite (Md.), Mizuno Runner's High (N.J.), Mohegan Striders (Conn.), National Training Center (Fla.), N.J. Striders (N.J.), New York Athletic Club (N.Y.), New York Elite (N.Y.), Newburgh Elite TC (N.Y.), Norfolk Real Deal (Va.), Park Racewalkers, USA (N.Y.), Philadelphia Athletic Charities TC (Pa.), Pike Creek Valley Running Club (Del.), Reebok Boston (Mass.), Roland International TC (Pa.), Run N Fun (Minn.), Run-Insight.com (Ohio), Samokantey TC (Md.), Shore AC (N.J.), So. Cal. Cheetahs Youth TC (Calif.), Syracuse Chargers TC (N.Y.), Tendonitis AC (N.Y.), The Farm Team, Inc. (Calif.), Universal Sole-Reebok (Ill.), Virginia Jets (Va.), Walk USA (N.Y.), Westchester TC (N.Y.), Western New York Roadrunners (N.Y.), Whirlaway Racing Team (Mass.).

The second event in the Club Championship Series will be the USATF National Club Co-Ed 10 km Team Challenge held on October 9 in Orlando, Fla. The Series will conclude with the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships on November 19 in Rochester, N.Y.