Men's Track & Field | 3/28/2018 5:28:00 PM

Raleigh Relays Live Results | Raleigh Relays Video (Friday night) | Raleigh Relays Video (Saturday afternoon) | Fred Hardy Invitational Video (Both days) 

FAIRFAX, Va. – After a rare meet at the same location, the George Mason men's and women's track and field teams split up again for the last weekend in March.

The Patriots will compete at two meets this weekend – the Fred Hardy Invitational in nearby Richmond and the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C. Both meets begin Friday and conclude Saturday.

Nearly 40 teams will be participating at the Raleigh Relays and Mason will travel its sprinters, jumpers and pole vaulters. As suggested by the name of the meet, the two days will consist of several relays, offering the Patriots opportunities to participate in events they normally otherwise wouldn't.

"We'll have a focus on individual events where needed but Raleigh also presents the opportunity to run a couple other relays we don't always run," head coach Andrew Gerard said. "The sprint medley relay we will run on the ladies' side and we are going to run the 4x200-meter relay on both sides. That is not one where we typically line up and race."

The throwers will stay in state for the Fred Hardy Invitational at the University of Richmond. Unlike the enormity of Raleigh, Hardy offers a smaller field and presents more chances for the Patriots throwers to advance to finals and get more repetitions under their belts.

"One of the reasons we go to Hardy versus Raleigh is that our kids have a better chance of making the finals and getting three more throws across the board," Gerard said. "It doesn't mean every kid will... but we want to give them opportunities. Especially with the weather having been what it has been, give them as many chances to get in the circle or get on the runway as possible so we can get in those extra throws, those extra reps."

The Patriots are coming off last weekend in which the entire team competed at the Dan Stimson Memorial Quad in Williamsburg. The meet featured double dual scoring on the both the men's and women's sides. On the men's side, Mason defeated Buffalo by a score of 93-90. The Patriots also tied William & Mary 88-88 and lost to Navy 123-69. The Mason women also defeated Buffalo (88-81) but lost to William & Mary (110-80) and Navy (116-77).

The intimate meet put more focus on places than individual marks, similar to what the Patriots will encounter at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships on May 5-6 at George Mason Stadium in Fairfax.

"Those opportunities where everybody is at one place at one time are a little bit few and far between," Gerard said. "It is more like conference in some ways than many of the meets that we go to. With that in mind, that does help us. Overall, it was solid."