Cards Open Cardinal Classic with Wins -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville has Strong Day 1 at Cardinal Classic

After a fairly good start at the Commonwealth College Opener last month, Louisville looked to carry those good vibes into their "home" facility at the Norton Sports and Learning Complex. The Cards brought in Texas, Miami (FL), Cincinnati, Bellarmine, and Xavier for the weekend. Texas is a strong opponent, as they are the reigning indoor track and field champions and runners up in men's and women's, respectively. 

Photo by Taris Smith, UofL

Day one was impressive for the Louisville women, as they picked up three event wins. Those wins were headlined by a Synclair Savage victory in the long jump in which she set the new school record of 6.44m (21' 1-1/2"). That beats the previous record of 6.27m (20' 7") set by Alexis Gibbons in 2018. Interestingly, Texas's Ackelia Smith did not participate in the event. Smith, a freshman, landed 15th on the all-time NCAA record list with a 6.73m (22' 1") jump in December.

The second big event for Louisville was none other than the pole vault. You may remember that the Cards had a pretty good performer in that category. While Gabriela Leon has moved on from UofL, the team competed as if she was right there with them. Louisville swept the top four places in the event, with Aliyah Welter winning her second pole vault event in as many tries this indoor season. She was followed by Lily Fleetwood and Carly Pujol putting up personal bests to get on the podium and Auriane Viola just beind. While there were only 10 participants in the pole vault, Louisville held five of the top six spots. Only one jumper from Texas joined the fray, while both of Miami's jumpers faulted. 

The last event win of the day went to Zoe Yeast. She and Tiana Bazie, who finished fifth, threw personal bests, while Katherine Coffey split them for third in the weight throw. The weight throw is another event in which Louisville has had major success, so seeing a number of performers on the results list is encouraging for the year ahead. 

The event does not appear to be scored on the team level, but every event counts when working to make qualifications for later inclusion in tournaments. The teams will return to action today at 10AM. Admission is free, while parking is $5. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

After a last minute change in plans, I'll be out again this week, but the show must go on. The rest of the crew will be in the house to discuss the week that was. They'll cover the women's basketball win over Pitt, the loss to VT, and take a look at the bounceback opportunity in Tallahassee. As always, you can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. If the live time doesn't work for you, there are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case