Hely (19), an applied sciences student at the University of Otago, is the best-performed of the nine Otago athletes named in the team.
The other elite athletes in the team are Anna Harvey (Taieri), and Hill City distance runners Campbell Garry and William Scorgie.
The other Otago athletes named are Hill City's Alex Gorrie, Bennett Jones, Cameron McNoe, Lauren Wilson, and Renaye Flockton, who is not attached to any club.
The team will compete at the Down Under track and field meeting at the Gold Coast City track from July 4-6. Teams from Asia and the United States will also be competing.
Hely's summer season culminated in her retention of the New Zealand junior women's 200m title at the national championships in Auckland. The Brent Ward-trained sprinter was also a member of the gold medal-winning Otago senior women's 4x100m relay team.
Hely's rapid improvement last summer was due to her increased strength, which she developed after an inflamed tendon in her left foot prevented her from running for a month last winter.
She substituted her time on the track with lifting weights in the gym. "I worked on my strength and feel more powerful now," Hely said.
Harvey (18), a law and science student at the University of Otago, won a silver medal in the junior hammer throw at the national championships in Auckland and a bronze medal in the senior women's event.
Harvey trained last winter with her coach, Raylene Bates, and was much stronger last summer. Garry (17), one of the most highly rated cross-country runners in Otago, wore the New Zealand singlet for the first time at the world secondary schools championships in the Czech Republic last month and finished in 19th place.
One of the youngest members of the New Zealand team, Garry was the second to finish and New Zealand was sixth in the teams race.
The talented William Scorgie won the junior boys 3000m (9min 3sec) at the national secondary schools championships last December.
Three promising Southland athletes also made the team: Rebecca Gibson from Gore, and Christina Taylor and Shaun Burgess from Invercargill.
Todd Johnston (Ariki) is the only Otago athlete selected for the Youth Olympics to be held in India in October.
