SEATTLE â€" The Gonzaga women's and men's track teams got off to strong starts to their 2016 seasons at the University of Washington Preview and the Vandal Invitational Saturday.

Participating in two season-opening meets as split squads, the Zags saw several new program top-10 times ran. One of the highlights came in the men's 4x800-meter relay at the UW Preview. The quartet of Conor McCandless, Mason Villarma, Ian Goldizen and Sumner Goodwin shattered the program's previous best mark by seven seconds.

The Bulldogs' foursome finished with a time of 7:44.69. They placed second in the event behind the University of Victoria's time of 7:43.30. McCandless opened with a 1:55.0, Villarma (1:56.62) and Goldizen (1:55.60) followed, and Goodwin anchored at 1:56.77.

"It was great racing by our relay team," Director of GU Track Pat Tyson said. "They crushed the program record. We had really great stuff today to open the indoor schedule. You think about the Spokane weather and the lack of spinning your legs at a good pace because of ice and snow. I could not be happier with the Zags."

Troy Fraley broke the men's 3,000-meter record. He finished second with a time of 8:04.37. Fraley broke Willie Milam's previous record of 8:07.66, which was set at last year's UW Preview. Fraley's previous best mark was 8:16.01. Matthew Crichlow ran an 8:18.80. He moved from 10th to fourth on the GU all-time list with that finish. Scott Kopczynski ran the 11th-best time in program history, cruising to a first place finish in his heat at 8:22.90.

Shelby Mills, the 2015 West Coast Conference Cross Country Runner of the Year, opened her indoor campaign very well. She was the second collegian across the 3,000-meter line at 9:36.38. The senior broke her personal record by nearly 15 seconds and moved from third to second on the program's all-time list. She was 0.27 seconds from Lindsay Drake's school record.

Maggie Jones had a great day in Moscow, Idaho. She placed first in the mile with a time of 5:14.33, before finishing second in the 3,000 meters at 10:11.65. Katy Culver (5:20.52, mile) and Jordan Thurston (10:12.35, 3000 meters) had third-place finishes close behind Jones. Julie Henling won the first heat of the 3,000 meters with a time of 11:07.96. In her first collegiate race, freshman Brianna Vasquez closed strong to place second in her 200-meter heat at 27.64.

Gonzaga women's head coach Patty Ley took GU's runners to the Idaho Invitational.

"This was the first indoor race for most of the women we took down to Moscow and they raced very well," Ley said.

Jack Pearce led a group of five Bulldogs at the front of the men's 3,000 meters. Pearce had the winning time of 8:50.30. Ben Stout (8:54.39) edged out freshman Bennett Gagnon (8:54.71) for second. William Thompson (8:58.81) and Andy Thomas (9:07.12) rounded out the top-five sweep.

"The men worked really well together pushing the pace and exchanging the lead, by design and by just pushing," Ley said. "It was a great show of teamwork, and really nice openers on a track that doesn't give up a lot of fast times."

In Seattle, McCandless placed second in his heat of the mile and finished with the fourth fastest time in GU history at 4:11.03. Goodwin, running his first race as a Zag, finished with the eighth-best time in program history at 4:12.93.

In the men's 800 meters, Kinsly Smith ran the second-best time in his heat and placed fourth overall. He charged down the homestretch for a time of 1:54.14, which is third on the GU all-time list. Sam Truax ran the eighth-fastest time in program history, 1:58.50.

Claren Fraher moved to third on the women's 600-meter list. She crossed the line at 1:41.45. Molly Stroosma (1:42.56) and Emily Anderson (1:43.21) also had strong finishes in the event.

"I was very pleased with our women in the 600 meters," Ley said. "Claren climbed on our indoor list. Emily is showing she is coming back from the injuries and illness of last year. And, Molly is showing a really nice new-found strength. None of them are feeling very 'fast' just yet, but they are maximizing the current level of speed with their strength. It's going to be a fun year!"

The Zags continue their indoor slate at the WSU Open Indoor in Pullman next Saturday.

Gonzaga Saturday Finishes - UW Preview Women's 600m: Fraher (23rd, 1:41.45); Stroosma (25th, 1:42.56); Anderson (27th, 1:43.21) Women's 3000m: Mills (13th, 9:36.38) Men's 800m: Smith (4th, 1:54.14); Truax (22nd, 1:58.50) Men's mile: McCandless (14th, 4:11.03); Goodwin (15th, 4:12.93); Goldizen (21st, 4:14.75), Villarma (24th, 4:16.42) Men's 3000m: Fraley (2nd, 8:04.37); Crichlow (10th, 8:18.80); Kopczynski (12th, 8:22.90); Hamilton (16th, 8:26.69); Quintana (20th, 8:29.10); Tarbath (29th, 8:35.55); Manley (30th, 8:36.63); Kaderabek (50th, 8:53.22); Lunder (51st, 8:54.54) - Idaho Invitational Women's 200m: Vasquez (12th, 27.64) Women's 400m: Vasquez (12th, 62.90); Dillon (15th, 64.67) Women's 800m: Foster (7th, 2:30.42); Murray (8th, 2:38.33) Women's Mile: Jones (1st, 5:14.33); Culver (3rd, 5:20.52); Johnson (9th, 5:48.92); Coic (10th, 6:00.34) Women's 3000m: Jones (2nd, 10:11.65); Thurston (3rd, 10:12.35); Gilbert (8th, 11:03.38); Henling (9th, 11:07.96); Kiefer (12th, 11:25.77); Winters (13th, 11:28.09); Slavoski (14th, 11:38.68); Ripple (15th, 12:11.76) Men's mile: Sicalo (2nd, 4:25.19) Men's 3000m: Pearce (1st, 8:50.30); Stout (2nd, 8:54.39); Gagnon (3rd, 8:54.71); Thompson (4th, 8:58.81); Thomas (5th, 9:07.12); O'Leary (7th, 9:14.64)