• Event: Hornet Invitational
• Date: Friday, March 17 and Saturday, March 18
• Location: Sacramento, Calif.
• Time: Friday - 12:30 p.m. / Saturday - 9:30 a.m.

BERKELEY - With the indoor portion of the 2017 season in the books, California returns to the outdoor campaign with the Hornet Invitational this weekend from March 17-18 in Sacramento. 

The only event featuring Cal competitors on Friday will be the men's and women's hammer starting at 1 p.m.. On Saturday, the Bears begin at 9:45 a.m. with the men's shot put, while the first running event with Cal runners will be the women's 4x100 relay at 11:50 a.m. The final event will be the men's 200 meters at 4:55 p.m. 

Following this weekend's action, Cal heads to Tempe, Ariz., for the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge from March 24-25. 

"We're using this meet to sharpen up for the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge next week in Tempe," director of track & field Tony Sandoval said. 

LAST YEAR'S HORNET OPEN
Cal enjoyed four victories and a number of top-10 performances at the 2016 Hornet Open from Sacramento.

The four winners were - Sullivan Parkerin the shot put (59-9.50/18.22m); Aaron Russell: in the discus (174-4.00/53.15m;); Tyler Brendel won the decathlon (7022 points); and Jayla Scholis, Taylor Smith, Morgan Robertson and Schantell Williams joined forces to win the 4x100 Meter Relay (47.10).

Brendel's win in the decathlon came in dominating fashion. Then a freshman, he claimed victory in five of the ten events - 100 Meters (10.91), 110 Meter Hurdles (15.22), Pole Vault (15-1.00/4.60m), Discus (123-3.00/37.56m) and Javelin (151-5.00/46.15m).

LAST TIME OUT: NCAA INDOOR  CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ashtyn Davis, Garrett Corcoran and Thomas Jouce completed action at the 2017 NCAA Indoor National Championships last weekend from College Station, Texas. 

In the 60-meter hurdles, Davis finished sixth with a time of 7.83. He PRed in the semifinals with a time of 7.71. 

In the 3000 meters, Corcoran crossed the finish line with a time of 8:20.31.

Finally, Thomas Joyce clocked in at 4:16.77 in the mile after qualifying the day before, snagging the final qualifying spot for the final with a time of 4:01.012. He just edged past the 11th-place finisher, Jonah Koech of UTEP, and his time of 4:01.019.

ALL-AMERICAN HONORS
For their efforts at NCAA Indoors, Davis was named an NCAA Indoor First Team All-American, while Corcoran and Joyce were named to the second team. 

In addition, the Cal men's program is currently ranked 21st in the John McDonnell Men's Division I Program of the Year rankings. In order to be ranked, a program must score team points in the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons.