The group is made up of 400m specialists Andrew Whyte and Robert Jopp, sprinter Cory Innes, 1500m runner Joshua Baan, hurdler Christina Ashton, shot putter Jerram Huston and javelin thrower Rory McSweeney.
It is one of the last chances for them to do some fine-tuning before the national track and field championships in Dunedin starting next Friday.
Whyte (22), the top-ranked 400m runner in the country, is pursuing Olympic qualification and has not lost a race all season.
While he has has not gone under 47sec since 2014, his winning time (47.08sec) at the Lovelock Classic in Timaru at the start of the year is the fastest time by a New Zealander this season.
Tama Toki, of Auckland, won the national title a year ago while Whyte was sidelined by injury, and will line up next to the Otago record-holder (46.25sec) tonight.
Sharp times have been recorded at the Auckland Track Challenge in the past, including a 46.23sec run by last year's winner, Cameron French.
Toki was second in 46.88sec, while he recorded his personal-best (46.77sec) when he won the race a two years ago.
Whyte, of Hill City-University, has not been seriously tested so far this season, and will welcome being pushed by Toki.
Frazer Wickes, who has the fourth-fastest time (47.67sec) by a New Zealander behind Whyte, French and Toki this year, is also competing tonight.
Blade runner Liam Malone (Tasman), who recently clocked 48.28sec to qualify for the Rio 2016 Paralympics, Jopp, Scott Burch (Manawatu), and Daniel Dyet (Auckland) make up the rest of the field.
Baan faces a daunting challenge as part of a 10-strong 1500m field, which includes four-time national champion Hamish Carson and Eric Speakman. Both ran sub-4min miles at the Cooks Classic in Wanganui last month.
The 20-year-old Caversham runner, who boasts a personal-best of 3min 55.38sec over 1500m, will also be up against Australian sub-4min miler Craig Huffer and national 10,000m champion Malcolm Hicks.
The 100m race will feature a rare appearance from Innes (30), of Taieri.
Innes has been in Australia, and finished fifth over 100m (10.99sec) at the Western Australian championships a fortnight ago.
But he is unlikely to push favorite Joseph Millar, of Tauranga, who clocked 10.33sec in Canberra last weekend, the fourth-fastest time by a New Zealander in history.
Ashton, of Taieri, lines up against the best in the business in the 100m hurdles. Canterbury's Fiona Morrison is the top-ranked athlete in the race, and has the fastest time (13.46sec) by any of the seven hurdlers this year.
Fellow Cantabrians Kelsey Berryman and Leanna Ryan, Aucklanders Rochelle Coster and Portia Bing, and Wellington's Phoebe Edwards are also entered.
Huston and McSweeney face off against national shot put champion Tom Walsh and national javelin champion Stu Farquhar respectively.
