Track and Field's Newest National Champion -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Synclair Savage Wins Long Jump

Louisville track and field has a new national champion, as Synclair Savage became the fifth outdoor national champion in program history on Thursday by winning the women's long jump. The redshirt senior has had an incredible season after returning from injury, and she has now capped off her career in the best way possible. Savage has been on a mission late in the season, and her determination and clutch gene were on display Thursday. 

Photo via GoCards

Savage entered the competition seeded in eighth of the 24 participants after she set a program record in the NCAA East Regional two weeks ago. Entering her final attempt at the leap, she stood in fourth. All she did with the last jump was set a new personal best, breaking her own school record, and moved to the top of the list. Her jump of 6.72m (22'-0 3/4") cleared second place by just one inch, though Savage was actually less wind assisted in her jump (+0.7 vs +1.4). The #1 seed had the same advantage as Savage, so her jump was just a heck of an effort. Savage's new PB broke her old program record by three-and-a-quarter inches! A huge congratulations to her for the new hardware. 

Jayden Ulrich had her first attempt at a championship come up a bit short, but she finished fourth in the women's shot put. That result is good for All-American honors, but I'm sure Ulrich will be slightly frustrated to come home one position off the podium for the second year in a row. Ulrich was able to improve on her throws from both the ACC Championships (17.56m) and the East Regional (17.97m), but her 18.26m throw in the NCAA Championship wasn't quite there. She was a quarter of a meter behind third (18.5). In fairness to the competition, Ulrich would have needed an almighty heave to finish better. Ulrich's personal best in the shot put is an 18.66m throw, which would have only been enough to move her up to third, as second was 18.85m and first was a whopping 19.01m. The gold medalist was Mya Lesnar, daughter of the former UFC Champion and WWE wrestler, Brock. 

Louisville currently stands at 4th in the team points, as Savage and Ulrich's results were supported by a 12th-place All-American finish for Ashley Callahan in pole vault and a 24th-place finish in the 3000m steeplechase by Layla Roebke. Roebke had a great season, peaking with a personal best 9:49.08 in the event in the East Regional, but the conditions weren't favorable on Thursday as she came home at 10:14.24. 

Photo via GoCards

The Cards still have Lucy Fellows, who started the heptathlon yesterday, and Jayden Ulrich's second attempt at a championship in discus to go. Ulrich enters the discus throw with the NCAA leading throw this season, so she'll look to stay on top as the competitors work to unseat her. Louisville looks on pace for an incredible team finish, which would be a great way to honor all that everyone on the team has done this season. 

No Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After Paulie and I returned last week, we hoped to keep the momentum going this week, but unfortunately scheduling hasn't worked in our favor. We'll be off again this week with an eye on returning to the show next week with a larger crew on hand. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case