Fresh from breaking three Otago secondary school records at the Caledonian Ground at the weekend, Christina Ashton (17) will be the first Otago athlete to hit the track, in the junior women's 100m.
She clocked 12.57sec over 100m at the weekend and will be full of confidence heading into this morning's preliminary final.
Ashton will also compete in the junior 100m hurdles, an event in which she is ranked second behind Waikato-Bay of Plenty's Emma Walker.
Walker boasts a slightly quicker time than Ashton this year, stopping the clock 0.02sec quicker than Ashton's 14.84sec.
Otago's Danica Davies, the women's national junior heptathlon champion and Otago record holder, will also compete in the 100m hurdles, an event in which she is ranked fifth-fastest.
Davies will be one of the busiest athletes over the next three days.
She is also entered in the junior high jump, javelin, long jump and shot put.
Hurdle specialists Felix McDonald and Madaline Spence also carry high hopes into the weekend.
McDonald crossed the line in 39.40sec in the 300m hurdles in the Otago championships last month, and will take some beating.
He is ranked third in the 110m hurdles behind Auckland's Niven Longopoa and Matthew Watson, but is capable of beating them on his day.
McDonald will also compete in the junior men's long jump.
Spence set an Otago record (women's 17 years) in the 400m hurdles in Dunedin last month, and goes into Sunday morning's race as the favourite. Otago's Kylie Lyders, of Waitahuna, will also compete.
Three Otago runners - Caden Shields, Peter Meffan and Joshua Baan - will test themselves against the best in the senior men's 5000m.
Hamilton brothers Jake and Zane Robertson will go into the race as favourites, particularly Zane, who finished second behind Nick Willis in the 5000m at the Auckland Track Challenge last week.
Aaron Pulford, of Waikato-Bay of Plenty, is ranked third going into the race, while former Otago runners Callan Moody and Daniel Balchin are fourth and fifth respectively.
Meffan will also compete in the 3000m steeplechase, with defending champion Balchin and Auckland's Michael Banks the expected front-runners.
Ben Anderson, who managed the 800m and 1500m double at the Otago championships last month, will run both in Wellington.
The 800m will feature American Andrew Wheating, the firm favourite, leaving Anderson to battle it out with Wellington's Tim Cornish and Canterbury's Brad Mathas.
Andrew Whyte and Daniel O'Shea, who are part of a 4x400m national relay squad vying to qualify for the world championships in Beijing in August, will line up in the 400m.
Javelin thrower Tori Peeters is one of Otago's best chances for a gold medal. The 20-year-old, whose sister, Stacey, plays netball for the Southern Steel, is the top-ranked thrower by more than 4.5m over Auckland's Stephanie Wrathall.
Bryn McLeod-Jones and Jerram Huston will have the best view of the battle between Jacko Gill and Tom Walsh in the senior men's shot put.
NZ championships
Leading Otago medal hopes
Senior: Tori Peeters (women's javelin), Mayce Ballantyne (women's hammer throw), Daniel O'Shea (men's 400m), Andrew Whyte (men's 400m), Ben Anderson (men's 800m and 1500m), Holly Robinson (women's javelin).
Junior: Christina Ashton (women's 100m and 100m hurdles), Danica Davies (women's high jump, javelin, long jump and shot put), Caitlyn George (women's 100m and 200m), Elizabeth Jones (women's discus, hammer throw and shot put), Felix McDonald (men's 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles), Madaline Spence (women's 400m hurdles and 400m), Bradley Tarleton (men's hammer), Hugh McLeod-Jones (men's discus, hammer, javelin and shot put).
AWD: Anna Grimaldi (women's long jump, 100m and 400m), Holly Robinson (women's javelin), Rory McSweeney (men's javelin), Richard Nelson-Parker (men's long jump, 100m and 200m).
