ITHACA, N.Y. -- A total of 19 Cornell track and field athletes will represent the Big Red when the NCAA championships kick off next week in Bloomington, Ind. Eight women and 11 men will compete for a national championship in a total of 15 events in the opening rounds of action, hosted in the East by the Indiana University.

Athletes were selected for the NCAA championships based on having one of the 48 best times or marks in their respective events, except in the case of the decathlon and heptathlon, where only the top 24 athletes were invited. The format for the NCAA championships this year will feature competition at one of two sites (Bloomington, Ind., and Eugene, Ore.) until the field in a given event is down to the final 12 at each regional site. The remaining 24 athletes will then advance to the finals site, which will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 8-11.

Only one athletes - freshman jumper Steven Bell - qualified in more than one event, as he will compete in both the long jump and the triple jump in Bloomington. Bell will be joined in the triple jump by senior Gary Jones. Other field event participants on the men's side include junior high jumper Chris Arlinghaus and junior shot putter Bob Belden. Junior decathlete Nick Huber will advance directly to Des Moines with the 14th best score in the nation this season.

On the track for the men will be six runners competing in four events. Nick Wade will run in the 800m, while Adrien Dannemiller will compete in the steeplechase. The men's 10,000m will feature Drew Hart and Nate Edelman, while the 400m hurdles will see Brian Freitas and Kenny McClain in action.

On the women's side, the meet will have a distinctly distance flavor, as seven of the eight runners for the Big Red will compete in mid-distance or distance races. Kim Standridge will run in the 800m, while the 1500m will feature Alyssa O'Connor and Janel Parker. Similarly, in the steeplechase, Genna Hartung and Maura Carroll will compete for Cornell. In the two longest races, Cornell will have Kelsey Karys (5000m) and Katie Kellner (10,000m) in action. Also competing at Bloomington will be Molly Glantz in the 400m hurdles.

Cornell's 19 athletes are the second-most in the Ivy League, following Princeton's 23.