Four members of the Iowa track and field program will compete in Des Moines this weekend for an opportunity to represent Team USA in a pair of international competitions.

Allison Gattone and Kaitlyn Nelson began competition Thursday and will continue into today at the U.S. Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Iowa freshmen are vying for national team spots against some of the best junior athletes in the country — ages 16 through 19 — for the chance to represent the country in Medellin, Colombia, on Aug. 23-25 at the 2013 Pan Am Junior Championships.

Nelson ran the women’s 800-meter preliminary in 2:11.13, good enough for a spot in today’s finals. She will race in the 800-meter finals at 7:20 p.m. Gattone will compete in Flight 1 of the women’s javelin throw, which begins at noon.

Justin Austin and Matt Byers will compete on Saturday and Sunday for a chance to represent Team USA at the World Championships in Moscow on Aug. 10-18.

Austin, an All-American in the 200 meters at the NCAA meet, will race in the same event at 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Byers, a three-time Big Ten champion, will begin competition in the javelin at 2 p.m. June 23.

Each event will take place at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University.