Over 1,200 athletes from 37 different schools are registered to participate in this year's invitational. The Cougars will meet opponents from as far away as North Dakota and as close as The Citadel.

Although the action begins on Thursday, Charleston will not compete in any events until Friday. Freshman Casey McKee (Johnsonville, S.C./Johnsonville) and sophomore Keisha Thacker (York, S.C./York Comprehensive) will kick things off with the women's hammer throw at 12:30 p.m. McKee launched a distance of 101'2" at the Palmetto Invitational on Mar. 12.

Track events get underway at 3:30 p.m. on Friday with the 100-meter trials, in which junior Saskia Kalmeijer (Brussels, Belgium/Pope) will compete.

The 100-meter hurdles preliminaries will also take place on Thursday. Freshman Jelain McArthur (Laurens, S.C./Laurens District) is seeded sixth out of 51athletes after setting the school record at the Palmetto Invitational. Her time of 14.75 seconds shaved 27 hundredths of a second off the existing record and placed her first in the competition. McArthur will also compete in the 200 meters for Charleston.

Junior Mary Zolga (Raynham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) will represent the Cougars in the 400-meter hurdles. The school recordholder is seeded 15th out of 55 runners in the event. Zolga broke the school record at the Palmetto Invitational with a time of 1:05.40. Kalmeijer, who owns the sixth-best time in CofC history, will also compete in the event.

Sophomore Kristen Wolfe (Midlothian, Va./James River) will compete in the 3,000 meter steeplechase that is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. She set the school record last year with a time of 11.02.00 and will compete in the event for the first time this season.

Saturday's events will include the long jump and javelin, the finals of the hurdles and several relays.