Cardinals Earn Nine Top-Five Finishes on First Day of Competition
The University of Louisville track and field teams completed their first day of competition at the Indiana Invitational on Friday, securing an impressive nine top-five finishes, all of which came during the field events.
The Cardinals started strong in the women’s hammer throw, with three athletes finishing in the top-five. Zoe Yeast led the way with a runner-up finish, achieving a distance of 56.04m (183-10). Katherine Coffey followed closely, claiming fourth place with a throw of 55.56m (182-3), while Tiana Bazie secured fifth place with a season-best throw of 54.70m (179-5).
In the men’s hammer throw, Erik Fertig captured silver with a 62.25m (204-2) throw, marking the second time in his career with a throw over 60 meters. Ethan Alyea claimed third place with a distance of 58.36m (191-6).
Jorge Contreras Nazario added to the Cardinals’ successes with a runner-up finish in the men’s shot put, recording a throw of 17.21m (56-5.75). Aliyah Welter earned a third-place finish in the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.24m (13-11).
The long jump events saw two more top-five finishes, with Ariel Lawrence placing fourth in the women’s long jump with a season-best leap of 5.75m (18-10.5) and Adam Axelrod securing fifth place in the men’s long jump with a mark of 6.63m (21-9).
On the track, Sydney Partyka and Madeline Castleberry both achieved personal-best times in the women’s 5000m. Partyka became the first Louisville woman to break 17 minutes in the 5000m since the 2021 outdoor season, finishing with a time of 16:57.64.
In the men’s 1500m, Nolan Satterfield and J.B. Terrill picked up heat wins, with Satterfield’s time of 3:52.90 beating his previous personal-best by nearly three seconds.
The final day of competition will commence with the women’s discus throw at 12:30 p.m. ET, while the track events will kick off with the women’s 4x100m relay. The Cardinals will look to continue their strong performances and build on their successful first day.
