Thrice as nice: Card crushes another Big Ten record

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Thrice as nice: Card crushes another Big Ten record

April 23, 2016 | Women's Track & Field

Senior smashes conference shot put record in San Diego

SAN DIEGO – Wisconsin women's track and field senior Kelsey Card competed three times this weekend in San Diego.

Each time the Plainview, Illinois, native entered the ring, she broke a Big Ten Conference record, including Saturday when she shattered her own conference shot put record at the Triton Invitational.

Card finished fourth in the invitational section of the shot put with a toss of 58 feet, 2 1/4 inches, which reset her previous Big Ten record by three inches. She ranks second in the NCAA in the event, trailing only defending NCAA champion Raven Saunders of Ole Miss. Card ranks 12th in the world in the event.

"I was very relaxed," Card said about her shot put performance. "I just wanted to go into it with a fun mindset and then just try to see what happens and not press too hard."

"This was a fantastic weekend for Kelsey," said UW assistant coach Dave Astrauskas, who oversees the Wisconsin throwers. "We are looking to get some great training in the next three weeks to set her up in prime position for the postseason."

Card's shot put performance capped off an incredible weekend. She also recorded an Olympic qualifying mark in the discus on Thursday at the Chula Vista Throws and Vault competition with a Big Ten record heave of 202-3.

On Friday, Card topped her recent record in the discus with a mark of 203-9, which leads the NCAA and ranks 13th in the world.

"It feels really good to know where we're at right now," Card said. "It's nice to see those improvements in those marks and it's a relief to have the Olympic qualifying marks out of the way."

Amongst a large field of 44 athletes in the open section of the shot put, redshirt freshman Banke Oginni set a personal best and won the event with a distance of 50-2 ½. The mark ranks sixth in school history.

Fellow redshirt freshman Kennedy Blahnik also performed well in the shot put, placing seventh with a heave of 47-10.

Sophomore Taylor Amann notched a fifth-place finish in the pole vault invitational with a clearance of 13-1 1/2.

In the invitational section of the javelin, redshirt senior Brianna Bower took fifth with a throw of 144-0 and sophomore Danielle Weber came in 13th with a mark of 126-4.

Multi-event athletes Georgia Ellenwood and Casie Pawlik looked to brush up on a few events with the Big Ten outdoor championships on the horizon.

Ellenwood soared to a new personal best in the long jump with a distance of 20-3 3/4, which is tied for fifth in school history.

Pawlik took 22nd in the event with a jump of 17-6.

In the 100 hurdles, Ellenwood finished in 14.23 seconds to place 11th, while Casie Pawlik crossed the line in 14.92 to finish 18th.

Meanwhile at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Brenna Detra was the lone representative for the team. Competing in the 400-meter hurdles, the junior finished in fifth place with a time of 1:01.35.

The Badgers return to the track next weekend for the prestigious Drake Relays. In addition, Wisconsin throwers will compete at the UW-Whitewater Drake Alternative Meet on Saturday.