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FAIRFAX, Va. – After a strong start to the season, the George Mason men's and women's track and field teams look to build on the young outdoor campaign as temperatures warm up this weekend.

The Patriots split up again for the second weekend of the outdoor season, heading to the Fred Hardy Invitational in Richmond, Va., and the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C. Both meets begin Friday and conclude Saturday. Both days of the Raleigh Relays will be broadcast on WatchESPN.com.

As spring is officially underway, temperatures are expected to be more seasonal with highs in the mid 70s in both locations on Saturday. George Mason head coach Andrew Gerard hopes the warm weather proved beneficial to the Patriots, who are trying to usher their indoor success outside after the men captured the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships and the women took second last month.

"We want to continue the momentum from where we left off with indoors," George Mason head coach Andrew Gerard said. "We want to keep that ball rolling and really reach the higher levels during the outdoor season… Indoors has a purpose and it's great and the competition is fantastic. But, at the same time, the prime stage is the outdoor (season). That's what the Olympic level is. That's what the world (championships) level is. We all aim to be on the same page, especially during the outdoor season. This is the one we aim for with everybody."

Mason will send its throwers to the Fred Hardy Invitational at the University of Richmond. Gerard said the meet could give the Patriots as many as six throws in an event, thus putting a significance on gaining more repetitions.

"At this point in the season, it is about trying to get more reps, more throws in competition in some cases," he said. "We felt like the Richmond meet set us up better with a better chance to do that. It is about getting more time in the circle and more chances to do it right."

Senior Michelle Wallerstedt got it right last weekend, setting the school record in the discus at the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday in Miami. She won the event with a toss of 53.55 meters (175 feet, 8 inches), breaking Tamika Powell's record of 51.87 meters set in 1996.

Wallerstedt, a fifth-year senior from Omaha, Neb., redshirted during the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2016. Gerard believes the year off paid dividends.

"She is stronger. She has worked on some flexibility things. Her technique is continuing to evolve and improve," Gerard said. "I don't know if I would have said, 'Oh yeah, first meet she will throw a PR and school record.' But it certainly wasn't out of the realm of possibility with all the work she has done going back two years to set the stage for that."

The sprinters, jumpers and hurdlers, along with a handful of distance runners, will head to the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State. The Patriots plan to put a strong emphasis on the relays, especially in the sprint medley and 4x200. Both events are rarely run at the collegiate level but will provide opportunities to work on the technical aspects.

"They've been productive for us in the past, kind of refining some baton passing skills," Gerard said. "Little bit different looks to offer the competitors in terms of different teams we're seeing but then also working again on their reps. Getting the baton around the track, getting it into people's hands repeatedly."