The University of Louisville track and field teams will begin the new year with the Cardinal Classic on Jan. 13-14 at the Norton Healthcare Sports and Learning Center. This competition will feature several events and will host several top-level teams from around the country.
The meet will kick off on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. with the women’s weight throw, long jump, and pole vault, leading into the day’s track events beginning at 5 p.m. The competition will resume on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with the remaining field events and will conclude at 12:30 p.m. with the men’s 4x400m relays.
“We are excited to be hosting at the Norton Sports & Learning Center this weekend,” said head coach Dale Cowper. “The Cardinal Classic has an outstanding field of competition set up for a fast-paced meet. I’m optimistic that we will see several facility records broken and many more challenged.”
The Cardinals will compete with six other schools this weekend, including the University of Texas, whose men’s squad won the indoor national championship last season for the first time in school history, and whose women’s team finished second nationally. Louisville will also get their first look at an ACC opponent with Miami slated to compete as well.
Admission to the event will be free of charge and parking at the facility will be provided for $5. More meet information can be found on the website.
The meet will be the Cardinals’ first competition of 2023 after last competing on Dec. 3 at the Commonwealth College Opener. At this event, Louisville athletes won seven events and recorded 12 personal best performances.
Senior Trey Allen led the charge by winning the high jump in a school-record mark of 2.27m (7-5.25), while freshman Brion Stephens began his collegiate career with a runner-up finish in the same event, clearing a height of 2.20m (7-2.5) that broke the Louisville freshman record. Allen and Stephens currently boast the top-two marks in the high jump nationally.
Cameron Miller also made an impact in his first meet as a Cardinal, blazing to a new school record of 32.94 in the 300m to finish second, while Zach Frye and Ty McPhail placed second and third in the pole vault, both clearing 5.10m (16-8.75) to earn new personal bests and tie them for the fourth-best performance in school history.
On the women’s side, Aliyah Welter won the pole vault competition with a vault of 4.05m (13-3.5) and Madeline Castleberry won the 3000m in 10:06.30. Katherine Coffey and Zoe Yeast took the top two spots in the weight throw, with Yeast recording a personal best heave by over a meter.
The 4x400m relay of McKenzie Bell, Jourdin Edwards, Taylor Herbert, and Katie Martin took second place in 3:42.70, a time that stands third in Louisville history and just two seconds off the school record. With a great performance on their first competition of the year, the Cardinals will look to continue their success in the Cardinal Classic.