Courtesy: USAT

Approximately 600 collegiate athletes are expected to compete Saturday at the USA Triathlon National Collegiate Triathlon Championships in Peoria, Ariz.

The event, put on by Tucson Racing Inc., and hosted by the University of Arizona TriCats, will take place in Lake Pleasant Regional Park. The race will be Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) and draft illegal.

The team title at last year's event, held in Memphis, Tenn., was taken by the University of Colorado, which also won the women's team event. CU's Sara Tarkington won the women's overall title.

The U.S. Naval Academy won the men's team title last year and Michael Boehmer of the University of Wisconsin won the men's individual title.

In order to compete for the individual title, collegiate athletes must meet the following criteria established by USA Triathlon:

* Athletes must enrolled in a two or four year college or university
* Athletes may be graduate students if they meet all other eligibility requirements
* Athletes must be making progress toward a degree/graduation
* Athletes must be between the ages of 17 and 27 as of 1/01/03
* Athletes may have graduated within six months of 4/26/03
* Athletes do not have to be a member of a collegiate team to participate
* Athletes who are attending college or a member of their collegiate team but who do not meet the above requirements may participate in the exhibition wave.

Complete event details and past results are available at www.tucsonracing.com/NCTinf03.htm.