LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The nationally ranked University of Louisville track and field program will host its only home meet of 2007 this weekend as more than 400 collegiate athletes will compete at the Cardinal Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Cardinal Park.

The meet, which will include full squads from Indiana University, Indiana State, Butler and Georgetown College, will begin on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET with the men's and women's hammer throw at the U of L Throws Field, while the remaining events will begin on Saturday at Noon ET at Cardinal Park and at the U of L Throws Field. Admission for the event is $5 for adults and $3 for students 18 and under, while U of L students, faculty and staff will be admitted free with a valid university ID.

"We're excited that our great fans will have the opportunity to see the team they've allowed us to build and the team they have supported in all of our meets," said U of L head coach Ron Mann. "It's always fun to see the interaction of the fans and all of our athletes, especially our senior athletes, who we'll honor with red roses in their final competition at Cardinal Park."

Some of the featured events for U of L at the 2007 Cardinal Invitational include the men's and women's hammer throw on Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET with senior All-American Arthur Turland and BIG EAST champion Emily Turland. Saturday's highlight events include 2007 NCAA indoor champions Tone Belt and Andre Black competing in their primary events. Belt, the reigning NCAA indoor long jump champion, will compete in Saturday's long jump at 2 p.m. ET, while Black, the reigning NCAA indoor triple jump champion, will compete in Saturday's triple jump at 5 p.m. ET.

Other highlighted Saturday events include the women's 1,500m run (Tarah McKay) at 2:40 p.m., the men's 1,500m run (Wesley Korir, Cory Thorne) at 2:45 p.m., the men's high jump (Tone Belt) at 3 p.m., the women's 100m dash (LaShondra Durias) at 4 p.m., the men's 100m dash (Patrick Carter and Trent Guy) at 4:15 p.m., the women's 400m hurdles (Heather Trimiew) at 4:40 p.m. and the women's 200m dash (Elisabeth Slettum) at 5:35 p.m.

The Cardinal men's team enters the weekend with the highest outdoor national ranking in school history after moving up three spots to No. 11 in this week's Trackwire Top 25 released on Monday night. Overall, the Cardinal men (42) and women (29) have earned a school record total of 71 qualifiers for next month's BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, six more than last year's total of 65.

U of L also has a school record total of 20 qualifiers for the NCAA Mideast Regional, on May 25-26 in Columbia, Mo. With 13 men's qualifiers and seven women's qualifiers, the Cards surpassed the previous school record total of 17 set last season.

Following this weekend's Cardinal Invitational, U of L will have athletes competing at a pair of events next weekend, including the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.