LOGAN, Utah - Utah State's track & field teams are set to open the outdoor season this weekend at the UC-Irvine hosted Collegiate Classic on Friday and Saturday, March 15-16.

Action will get underway on Friday at 3 p.m. (MT) with the men's and women's hammer throw, while track events begin at 7 p.m. with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The first day will end at 7:50 p.m. with the women's 5,000-meter run.

On Saturday, the Collegiate Classic continues at noon with the men's and women's pole vault, while track events open with the men's 4x100-meter relay race at 1 p.m. and end with the women's 4x400 relay at 4:30 p.m.

A full schedule of events and a link to live results will be available on UtahStateAggies.com.

Last season, Utah State sent a school-record 22 student-athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Championships before sending six, including returning seniors Cierra Simmons-Mecham and Brenn Flint, and junior Sindri Gudmundsson, to the Outdoor National Championships.

At the Mountain West Outdoor Championships, the men placed fourth with 131 points, while the women placed fifth with 78 points.

The Aggies claimed five event titles at the MW Championships, including Gudmundsson, who owns the school record in the event and went on to become a javelin All-American for the second time in his career. Seniors Sam Nelson (pole vault), Simmons-Mecham (3,000 meter-steeplechase) and Flint (shot put) are the other returning members who won an event title at the MW Outdoors last season.

This year, Fresno State will host the MW Outdoor Championships from Wednesday through Saturday, May 8-11. The NCAA West Preliminaries are two weeks later in Sacramento, Calif., before the NCAA Outdoor National Championships are held in Austin, Texas, from Wednesday through Saturday, June 5-8.

Fans can follow Utah State's track & field programs at twitter.com/USUTF_XC or on Facebook at USUTrack. Fans can also follow the USU athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at UtahStateAthletics.

-USU-