Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Seeing silver: Card finishes second in discus at NCAA championships
June 13, 2015 | Women's Track & Field
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June 13, 2015
EUGENE, Ore. -- Kelsey Card created her own history at Hayward Field on Saturday at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, as the Wisconsin junior placed second in the discus and became the first in program history to earn first-team All-America accolades in the event.
Card threw 194 feet, 11 inches, on her fifth attempt of the competition to claim her second runner-up finish of the week after she also placed second in the shot put on Thursday with a Big Ten record heave of 58-11 1/4. She became the first thrower to finish second both in the shot put and discus at the same NCAA meet since Arizona State's Sarah Stevens in 2009.
"You have goals and dreams heading into the season. To have one of your dreams become a reality, it's great," Card said. "To know you are still one place down from the ultimate goal gives you more to work towards."
"You see the performances that were put out during this meet. It's incredible competition across the board," UW Director of Track & Field Mick Byrne said. "A lot of kids come to this meet and they get blown away by the performances, the level of competition and atmosphere. Kelsey doesn't.
"She takes it in stride and she gets after it. We're proud of how she performed this weekend."
Card single-handedly helped the Badgers score 16 points during the four-day meet with her pair of second-place showings, leading Wisconsin to tie for 15th place in the team standings. It marked the program's best finish since UW tied for 14th at the 1998 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Buffalo, New York.
"I want to do everything I can to help the team," Card said. "You want to do well on an individual level, but to do well as a team is huge. I hope that putting up good marks show that we are capable of doing great things here. I hope it motivates everyone to be the best."
"Any time you can finish in the top 20 as a team it's incredible," Byrne said. "What's even better is that we feel like we have a strong core returning next year in Kelsey, Georgia Ellenwood, Molly Hanson and Sarah Disanza."
Card entered the finals ranked third with her throw of 189-11 in the preliminary round of the competition. Reigning NCAA champion Shelbi Vaughn of Texas A&M threw 201-5 on her second attempt to lead the event.
After a throw of 189-6 on her fourth attempt, Card entered the fifth round sitting in fourth place. The Plainview, Illinois, native unleashed her best throw of the day, 194-11, on her fifth attempt of the competition and jumped into second place.
"It felt good," Card said. "It was my second-farthest throw, ever. That was nice to have here, but I wish I could have a little more at the finish, but I can't complain."
Card's final attempt soared 193-7, making her the only competitor to have multiple throws over 190 feet during the six-round event.
"I felt like, especially on the last one with the wind today, I didn't hit the finish right so the discus turned over," Card admitted. "I'm frustrated with that, but it is something to take away and work on and hope there can be more there if I nail the finish."
Following a redshirt season in 2014, Card became the first in program history to score in the discus with her runner-up finish and the first to collect first-team All-America honors in the event. On Thursday, Card became just the second UW athlete to score in the outdoor shot put, as Karen Nitsch was seventh at the 1984 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"I was thinking about my redshirt season during today's finals," Card remarked. "I felt calm and at peace today, and I think taking the time to gather and break down and focus on my technique and strength levels last year really helped me. It really prepped me for the big meets and helped me be calmer and focused. I think it was beneficial to take the redshirt seasons."
Card returns to Hayward Field in two weeks for the 2015 USA Outdoor Championships where she will throw both the shot put and discus. She enjoyed a stellar showing at the 2014 USA Outdoor Championships, as she set program records in the shot put and discus that she has shattered this season.
"I'm hoping I can head into the meet with a good mindset," Card said. "I'm happy how I did this weekend, but I still have technical things I can work on. There's a couple of teams that people are trying to make, so it's another goal to reach towards."
Hanson takes ninth in 1500 meters
Heading into Saturday's final of the 1500 meters at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, junior Molly Hanson's biggest goal was to improve on her 11th-place showing in 2014.
Hanson was able to accomplish her goal, turning in a ninth-place showing in a season-best time of 4 minutes, 17.06 seconds to collect second-team All-America accolades.
"I think when I crossed the line I was sort of disappointed," Hanson said. "But I did think back to the fact that my number one goal was to finish better than last year, and I was able to do that. It's something to be happy with. I'm not disappointed really. At the middle of the season, I didn't think I would get to the finals at the national meet, so to get here and finish ninth was incredible."
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| Molly Hanson |
"She did a great job," Byrne said. "It was a tough race and a great competition. They went out very, very fast. That wind was a strong wind out there, but she was able to handle it and just missed a first-team All-America finish."
It marked the third-straight race that Hanson set a season-best time, as she had also done so at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and in the semifinals at the NCAA outdoor championships on Thursday.
Hanson started off the race towards the pack of the field of 12 and had to navigate a fallen runner early on in the race.
The Dodgeville, Wisconsin, native, remained in the pack and worked her way up to ninth heading into the final lap. The junior tried to net a top-eight finish and earn first-team All-America honors, but was unable to work her way up.
"To resurrect myself after a rough start to my season and make the final and finish better than I did a year ago, I would say that this season went better than last season," Hanson said. "That is what you have to put in perspective for the collegiate career. I have taken steps every single season and I'm very happy that I'm improving.
"I definitely have some fire in me after the end of this season and I would like to prove myself after the start of this season. I have some fire and momentum heading into my senior season."
