Ulrich Still Seeking Championship -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ulrich Places 4th in Shot Put

Jayden Ulrich won't be Louisville's first double national champion, but she'll still have a chance to be the first female Cardinal to place in the top-five in two separate events at the same national championship meet. Ulrich placed fourth in the shot put on Thursday evening with a throw of 17.89m (58'-8 1/2"). Her throw was not a personal best, but even her PB couldn't have touched Jaida Ross from Oregon, who threw 19.57m (64'-2 1/2"). Ross also holds the collegiate record, which she set last month, of 20.01m (65'-7 3/4"). That's a long way to throw a heavy ball. While it wasn't the goal, fourth is still a very impressive finish and earns First-Team All-American honors.

Ulrich will look to defend her spot atop the leaderboard in discus later this evening. That event is scheduled to begin at 5:05pm ET today. 

Natalie Lark also competed Thursday evening, but unfortunately failed to set a height in the women's pole vault. By qualifying for the national meet for the first time in her career, Lark earned an Honorable Mention All-American spot. The junior will look to get back to the event next season. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It'll be an old school show for you today, as Paulie and Jeff take the (digital) airwaves. With the other three of us out for various reasons (I'd like to be able to talk without pain sometime soon), it will be a return to the basement on the hill and the origins of the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Paulie and Jeff will bring you all the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics that they can find now that we're in the full midst of the summer slump.  You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. 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!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Lark, Jean and Ulrich in NCAA Championships -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS WOMEN'S ATHLETES VYE FOR FIELD EVENTS TITLES

The NCAA  2024 Outdoor Track and Field Chapuonships begin today in Eugene OR and three UofL women's track and field student-athletes will participate in four different events, beginnng Thursday.

Soledan Jean, Payton Ulrich and Natalie Lark are the Cards going for the wins. 

Lark will compete in the pole vault and that event gets under way Thursday night at 9:00 PM ET. She earned her berth with a runner up vault in theA CC Championships. The 4.27m (14 feet) mark she hit  is her personal best. She is seeded 22nd in the NCAA Championships. 

Also on Thursday night, Jayden Ulrich will compete in the first of her two events...the shot put. She is seeded fourth in the qualifiers, after she won in the ACC Championships. Her openng throw was 18.66m (61-2.75) and it was the best of the day among the participants. The shot put throws will begin around 10:45 p.m. 

Two more women's events on Saturday will include Cards Soledad Jean in the high jump and Ulrich's second event...the discus. 

Jean set a personal best in the  NCAA East Regionals with a leap of 1.84m (6.04). She is only the third Cardinals women's track and firld atudent-athlete in history to ever clear six feet. She's seeded 15th for the contest, set to start at 5 p.m. ET. It is her first ever visit to the NCAA Championships. 

Ulrich follows on Saturday in her second event, the discus, She is seeded fuurth in the event...fter win in the  Pacific Coast Invitational and her personal best of 64.29m (210-11)qualified her formthe Championhips

All events can be seen on various outlets of the ESPN network...you can check GoCards for the direct links. 

Best of luck to all our Cardinals participating in Eugene!

paulie

Ulrich Looking for Double (Again) -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jayden Ulrich Trying to Qualify for Two Championship Events

After winning gold in the ACC Championships in both Shot Put and Discus, Jayden Ulrich is looking to sweep both events in the regional qualifiers to try to win two golds at the NCAA Championships. Ulrich got off to a good start with that effort Thursday afternoon, crushing her own personal record and the facility record in the shot put. Her throw of 18.66m (61'-2 3/4") was the fourth-best in the NCAA this season and is the 15th-best in the world (sixth among Americans). Her previous record of 18.27m and the facility record of 18.04m seem small in comparison. That top mark in the East region qualifies her for the nationals in Oregon. 

Image via GoCards

Ulrich's second event, as mentioned, is the discus. That event will go off this afternoon. Ulrich currently holds the top throw in the country. She'll look for a solid throw to solidify her place in the NCAAs, which would make her Louisville's first double-qualifier since 2019. 

Ulrich isn't the only Cardinal advancing on the women's side. After a rain delay pushed pole vault to yesterday morning, Natalie Lark made it six straight years for Louisville having a representative at the NCAAs in women's pole vault. Lark cleared 4.20m (13'-9 1/4") to finish in a tie for ninth. The Cards have five qualifiers across the men's and women's teams so far. Ulrich, Soledad Jean (women's high jump), and Alba Cuns Iglesias (women's triple jump) will look to expand that list today, starting at 1PM.

No Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

With everyone headed their separate ways for the holiday weekend, we'll take this week off from the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast. I'm also out next week, but I believe Jeff will be back, so we'll keep you up to date on the plans as the week comes closer. Read The Cardinal Couple website, though, daily, to keep yourself up on the best in women's sports at UofL coverage. 

Have a great (and safe) Memorial Day Weekend!

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Continue ACC T&F Championships -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Ulrich Earns Shotput Sweep

Jayden Ulrich's list of accomplishments at UofL continues to grow. After taking gold at the ACC Indoor Championships in shot put earlier this year, Ulrich defended her crown by winning the event in the Outdoor Championships yesterday. Her throw (17.95m; 58'-10 3/4") was half an inch shy of being three feet longer than second place. There is some distance to find to break the ACC record, though, as Laura Gerraughty from UNC holds the overall conference record (18.82m in 2003) and the ACC Outdoor Championships record (18.59 in 2006). Only a junior, Ulrich will be looking to chase those numbers down in her senior season next year. 

Photo per UofL Athletics

For now, though, Ulrich has her eyes set on a Louisville first: winning two events at the same ACC Outdoor Championships. Ulrich will compete in the discus throw, which is set for 2pm. Ulrich currently holds the best throw in the country, a scorching 64.29m (210'-11") set on April 11th. That throw is five-and-a-half feet longer than second place. It is almost six meters longer than the next best ACC competitor, Marie Forbes from Clemson. Forbes' best throw of a 58.31m (191'-4") came on April 12th, and it is the 15th best mark in the country. 

Louisville is sitting at 4th in the overall conference standings. They also got good points from Natalie Lark, Lucy Fellows, and Iliana Triantafyllou. Fellows, fourth in heptathlon, and Triantafyllou, fifth in pole vault, both earned Second Team All-ACC marks as freshmen. Lark set a personal best clear on the pole vault, taking second. Her podium gives Louisville five straight years of a Cardinal medaling in pole vault at the outdoor conference championships. 

Not scoring points, but turning in an impressive performance, was Rylee Penn. Penn ran the women's 800m for the first time this season and set the second-fastest time in school history. Somehow, that time wasn't fast enough to advance to the finals. 

Ulrich will be first up for the Cards, as the discus throw kicks off the events of the last day of competition. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We ought to have four on the floor today as we return from our Derby break. Results may be harder to come by as the calendar isn't quite so packed with events, but we'll still bring you all the news and notes surrounding the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. You can check out the live stream of the show by going to the Cardinal Couple YouTube page and clicking on the live video. Jeff usually creates that about an hour before the show, which officially starts at 11 AM Eastern. 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!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Spotify: Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Triantafyllou Gets ACC Freshman of the week honors -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

TRIANTAFYLLOU NAMED ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

First off, Happy May Day to you! If you'e not familiar with the state (it's actually a commonwealth, by the way)...May is pretty big here in Kentucky, they run the Kentucky Derby, of course, on the first Saturday in May and, this year,  the PGA Golf Championships will be held at Valhalla (on the outskirts of Louisville) later this month.

Louisville women's track and field has had their share of excellent  track and field athletes  over the years.  ILLIANA TRIANTAFYLLOU is a freshman pole vaulter that is among those. 

She was named the ACC Freshman of the Week  after her huge performance in the Clark Wood Invitational women's pole vault...clearing 4.18m (13-8.5), which tied the best jump in Cardinals women's history for a freshman, previously held by Gabriela Leon back in 2018. You remember Leon, don't you? She won the NCAA Pole Vault back in 2022. with a still all-time Uofl best of 4.75m. (14ft.7.5 inches) 

Illiana hails from Serres, Greece and her jump is the sixth best in the ACC this season. Triantfyllou joined the Cards in January and had finished second in the Greek National Champunship pole vaulting events back in 2023.

She also won tthe 2022 Greek U18 Championships. 

Pole Vaulting is one of those track and field events that never cease to amaze me, given the precise timing, positionong, technique and style needed to be good at it. I admired the athletes I participated in track and field with in hgh school that were proficient at the pole vault and I even tried to see if I could be a "vaulter" but never could get over the bar...and they set it prettty low for guys that were in tryouts  As the coaches finally told me, "You run around the track once and twice pretty good, stick with that"

I enjoyed trying the long jump and triple jump, but never could match what the best on the team were doing. One of my grade school buddies went onto do some great things in the pole vault in high school. 

In the Clark Wood, Louisville Track and Field also got a 4.18m vault out of Natalie Lark . It would appear the Cards have a fine arsenal of long jumpers to help them compete and possibly win a lot of those events in the next few years. 

The ACC Championshiips will occur May 9-11 in Atlanta, GA...A full scheule of events are  available for viewing on the ACCNX and a schedule can be found at: https://theacc.com/feature/outdoor-track-field-championships . 

paulie