(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – A record breaking number of athletes will compete in the 2012 USA Boxing National Championships, February 26-March 3 at the Fort Carson Special Events Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Registration for the event concluded on Monday and a whopping 718 athletes have signed up to compete in the tournament.

The event plays a large role in the Olympic qualifying process for the seven unqualified men’s weight divisions with the 2012 USA Boxing National Champions advancing on to the final, international Olympic qualifier in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in May. The seven weight classes that remain open for Olympic qualification: are light flyweight (108 lbs.), lightweight (132 lbs.), light welterweight (141 lbs.), middleweight (165 lbs.), light heavyweight (178 lbs.), heavyweight (201 lbs), and super heavyweight (201+ lbs.).

Due to the large number of entrants, competition will begin on Sunday, February 26 in the lightweight (132 lbs.), light welterweight (141 lbs.), middleweight (165 lbs.), light heavyweight (178 lbs.), heavyweight (201 lbs.) and super heavyweight (201+ lbs.) divisions.

The light welterweight class leads all weight divisions in size with 115 boxers registered at the 141-pound mark. Lightweight follows closely behind with 110 boxers and the middleweight class boasts 96 entries.

Although the 2012 USA Boxing National Championships are not a component of the Olympic qualifying process for the female boxers, the Women’s World Championships team in the seven non-Olympic weight divisions will be determined in Colorado Springs. The champions in the light flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight, light welterweight, middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight classes will all earn berths on the U.S. squad for the key women’s international tournament.

The first tournament draw will take place on Sunday, with the path to gold being set for the six larger weight classes opening action on Sunday. The draw for the remaining four men’s weight divisions and the women’s weight classes will be held on Sunday, February 26.

USA Boxing National Championships preliminary round action will run from Sunday through Wednesday with two sessions daily at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday will feature quarterfinal action in two sessions and the semifinal bouts will be contested on Friday evening with championship bouts taking place on Saturday, March 3.

Admission for the preliminaries, semifinal rounds and women’s non-Olympic and men’s qualified weight division finals will be free of charge. Championship night general admission tickets are only $12.50 in advance (before February 28) or for any spectators with a valid USOC or NGB ID card or military/DoD identification. General admission tickets will be $20 after February 28 and can be purchased via Tempo Tickets at here.

As the 2012 USA Boxing National Championships will take place on Fort Carson, which is an active U.S. Army Base, all media interested in covering the event must be credentialed through Fort Carson Public Affairs. Please contact Julie Goldsticker at julie@goldstickerpr.com  or (720) 542-9690 if you are interested in covering the event and want to be included on Fort Carson’s outreach list.  (men boxers are listed on USA Boxing)

2012 USA Box
Women

Light flyweight – 106 lbs (Non-Olympic weight class)
Anayeli Segura, Austin, Texas
Nicole Pasillas, Aurora, Colo.
Sadie Roberts, Hudson, Iowa
Lisa Ha, Honolulu, Hawaii
Amy Sowers, Bozeman, Mont.
Brittany Delgado, Center Moriches, N.Y.
Cheyenne Candelaria, Albuquerque, N.M.
Victoria Quilantan, Houston, Texas
Marina Ramirez, Sacramento, Calif.
Kianna Richardson

Flyweight - 112 lbs (Olympic weight class)
Christina Cruz, New York, N.Y.
Virginia Fuchs, Kemah, Texas
Ayaesha Green, Trenton, N.J.
Tyrieshia Douglas, Baltimore, Md.
Cinissa Vasquez, Fort Worth, Texas
Rhonda McGee, Huntington Beach, Calif.
Marlen Esparza, Houston, Texas
Maryguenn Vellinga, Salt Lake City, Utah

Bantamweight - 119 lbs (Non-Olympic weight class)
Nephateria Miller, New Haven, Conn.
Haley Pasion, Aiea, Hawaii
Patricia Cuevas, San Antonio, Texas
Jamie Mitchell, Pacific Grove, Calif.
Maria Vizcaini, Watsonville, Calif.
Melanie Costa, Norton, Mass.
Ayanna Vasquez, Las Cruces, N.M.
Lindsay Bartels, Omaha, Neb.
Amanda Pavone, Burlington, Mass.
Brenda Hernandez, Oxnard, Calif.
Shanience, St. Louis, Mo.
Rianna Rios, Alice, Texas
Carissa Morton, San Francisco, Calif.

Featherweight - 125 lbs (Non-Olympic weight class)
Elizabeth Leddy, Portland, Maine
Shanne Ruelas, Fresno, Calif.
Kathrine Blumenfeld, Springfield, Vt.
Maira Madrigal, Wenatchee, Wash.
Jennifer Hamann, Seattle, Wash.
Karla Herrera, Los Angeles, Calif.
Heather Hardy, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Rashida Ellis, Lynn, Mass.
Jayli Fimbres, New Town, N.D.
Kirstie Simmons, Aurora, Colo.
Emily Dagnan, Jasper, Tenn.
Amorena Baca, Denver, Colo.
Nakarri Jones, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Asia Stevenson, Washington DC
Alecia Defrank, Hudson, Fla.
Monica Alvarez, San Antonio, Texas
Kymmberli Stowe, Philadelphia, Pa.
Tameka Montgomery

Lightweight - 132 lbs
(5) (Olympic weight class)
Katie Brunacini, Los Angeles, Calif.
Bertha Aracil, Yonkers, N.Y.
N'yteeyah Sherman, Barberton, Ohio
Felisha Estrada Gonzalez, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Chasity Funseth, Fort Bliss, Texas

Light welterweight - 141 (Non-Olympic weight class)
Griselda Madrigal, Wenatchee, Wash.
Cashmere Jackson, Parma, Ohio
Christella Cepeda, Yonkers, N.Y.
Lisa Porter, Valley Village, Calif.
Luvisa Matali, Denver, Colo.
Amber Smith, Ft. Worth, Texas
Earnestine Wesley, Garland, Texas
Rosa Garcia, Laveen, Ariz.
Dianeya Nodarse, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Sherry Whetton, Tucson, Ariz.
Mikaela Mayer, Los Angeles, Calif.
Ariel Beck, Helena, Mont.
Jessica McCaskill, St. Louis, Mo.
Denise Moran, Cathedral City, Calif.

Welterweight - 152 lbs(Non-Olympic weight class)
Nisa Rodriguez, Bronx, N.Y.
Kayla Brady, New Town, Md.
Jessica Francois, Washington DC
Tara Weisshaar, Burlington, Colo.
Alicia Napoleon, Lingdenhurst

Middleweight - 165 lbs
(Olympic weight class)
Dara Shen, Alexandria, Va.
Claressa Shields, Detroit, Mich.
Raquel Miller, San Francisco, Calif.
Fallon Farrar, Staten Island, N.Y.
Franchon Crews, Baltimore, Md.

Light heavyweight - 178 (Non-Olympic weight class)
Denise Rico, Los Angeles, Calif.

Tyler Lord-Wilder, Lansing, Mich.
Kendra Minnis, St. Louis, Mo.
Maricela Cornejo, Las Vegas, Nev.

Heavyweight - 178+ lbs (Non-Olympic weight class)
Victoria Perez, Ventura, Calif.

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).