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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — To qualify in the discus for the NCAA track and field championships, it all came down to one final throw, a relatively modest one at that for Kelsey Card, the Big Ten champion and record-holder in the event. To advance, she needed only to finish among the top 12.
"I was just trying to remember that,'' said Card who was 14th after her first two throws.
Still, it was an unexpected predicament for someone with elite credentials; someone who had the longest toss in the nation; someone who had exceeded 200 feet four times; someone who managed just 170-1 on her first throw and foot fouled on her second in the West preliminary round.
At the slightest hint of any stress – and she would later admit to feeling different levels of anxiety – Card would cast a glance at her fiancé Andrew Bartsch, a soul-mate and confidant since their late teens. "I kept looking at him,'' she said, "because I feel reassured when I'm looking at him.''
Card and Bartsch are Illinois natives and met at a summer track camp in Madison prior to the start of their senior year in high school. "My coach knew Andrew's coach,'' recalled Card, "and he said, 'Hey, you might know this kid. He's from your neck of the woods.' So he introduced us.''
They quickly discovered that they had much in common. Plus, they just meshed, they hit it off. "We spent much of that time hanging out together,'' Bartsch remembered, "having both come from the same part of Illinois and having several shared interests, including sports.''
Card is from Plainview, an unincorporated community, 60 miles south of Springfield.
Bartsch is from Maryville, a village of 8,000, 17 miles east of St. Louis.
"We're 40 minutes away from each other,'' she said. "He was big school; I was small school.''
Card went to Carlinville High School (enrollment: 420) and Bartsch to Collinsville (1,999).
"I always thought when I first met him that there was something special about him,'' said Card who also excelled in volleyball and basketball as an all-around prep athlete. "We dated a little bit our senior year, broke up for awhile and got back together right after graduation.''
Whereas Card dominated the high school throwing competition – she went 8-for-8 in Class IA state titles for the shot put and discus – Bartsch was a late bloomer. Between his junior and senior year, he improved his marks by over 20 feet in the discus and 11 in the shot and was named all-conference.
Bartsch wound up signing a national letter of intent to attend the University of California, Davis (whose campus is just west of Sacramento). With Card embarking on her career in Madison, less than a five-hour drive from home, the long distance separation put a stress on their relationship as freshmen.
"Our time apart was quite difficult,'' Bartsch conceded.
"It was really hard,'' said Card. "I felt the time difference was the worst part.''
"The time difference,'' Bartsch agreed, "made finding a time to video chat quite challenging.''
They saw each other only twice during the school year; a problem that was eventually resolved when Bartsch transferred to Wisconsin the following summer. A little less than two years ago, Bartsch invited Card to meet him at their favorite spot along the shore of Lake Mendota and proposed.
"He had roses,'' she said, "and it was really beautiful.''
As far as the wedding plans, Card said, "I started to plan last fall and then I got really stressed when school and track picked up. So it was like, 'This isn't fun. I'm not doing this anymore.' So everything is kind of on hold until after all of the track stuff this summer.''
The 23-year-old Card likes to joke about eloping.
"You never know,'' she said.
What has not been a laughing matter has been Bartsch's positive influence and support.
"He's very reassuring,'' Card said.
While competing for the UW men's team in the weight throws, Bartsch offered insight – "It's nice to have all those different ideas and eyes,'' she said – complementing the regimented training and instruction that she received from UW assistant Dave Astrauskas, a highly respected throws specialist.
"It's nice that he (Bartsch) throws, too,'' Card said. "He understands all that is involved in the training and the competing – the mental and physical aspects. He gets it all. I can tend to be very negative and he's always extremely positive. He believes that I can do anything I want to do.''
Bartsch downplayed his impact.
"The biggest thing I do to help Kelsey prepare for meets,'' he said, "is making sure she has everything required to compete so she's prepared for any condition that arises. Watching her compete is actually quite stressful. I often find myself nervously pacing as she throws.''
That was the case during the aforementioned weather-challenged NCAA West Preliminary Round (May 26-28) in Lawrence, Kansas. Prior to launching the meet's longest throw in the shot put, Card needed at least 175-feet in the discus to qualify for nationals and she got it on her final attempt.
After placing 10th in the discus, she asked Bartsch, "Were you worried?''
"Honestly, I was getting a little worried,'' he acknowledged.
"No matter,'' Card said, "he kept smiling at me during the competition.''
That simple act of reassurance – a smile – can go a long way.
"It's really good to have that calm at my side,'' she said. "He makes me feel a lot better.''
• • • •
A year ago, Card was the NCAA runner-up in the shot put and the discus.
Eyeing this week's championships in Eugene, Oregon, she said, "I just want to try and improve on that (2015). That's the goal – to try and better what you have been in the past and keep moving forward. If I win, that would be great. If I get a PR, that also would be great.''
What is her strongest event? The shot? Or the discus? Where is she the most confident?
"That's difficult to say,'' said Card who was unwilling to choose one over the other. "It really just depends on the day. I have good days and bad days in each. There are a lot of good girls in the field in both events. It will really come down to the day and what happens … ''
Later, she acquiesced and said, "I'm technically ranked better in the discus.''
That was her concession to a question about July's Olympic trials at the same Oregon venue.
Card has met the qualifying standard in both the shot put and the discus.
"At this point, I'm still a collegiate athlete, so the focus is definitely on the NCAAs right now,'' insisted Card, while in the same breath allowing the Olympics are "always in the back of your mind'' before reiterating, "But the main focus is on the NCAAs, first and foremost, until that's done.''
Some things are virtually impossible to block out or ignore. For instance, the rapid spread of the Zika virus is obviously concerning for any prospective competitor at the Rio Olympics. "I'm not entirely sure what is going on,'' Card confessed. "But everybody would be in the same boat.''
She went on to say, "I was sitting in the hotel during the (NCAA) regionals and stuff was flashing on CNN about all the reports coming out (on Zika). People have asked me, 'If you make the team, would you go?' That would be such a great honor, I feel like you would be crazy to turn it down.''
Of course, she doesn't want to get ahead of herself.
"Crazy things can go down at that meet,'' she said.
Was she talking about the Olympic trials? Or the NCAAs? Maybe both.
"I'm trying,'' she said, "to wind everything up at the right moment.''
Right now, she seems to be in a good place, particularly emotionally.
"I do feel good about it,'' said Card, the women's student-athlete of the year at Wisconsin. "But I also realize that I can't let down physically or mentally so I have to stay strong as far as I can in both areas. School is over and now I can just focus on training, and that's really nice.''
What's even nicer for Card is having someone, like Andrew, to share everything with.
"That's the person that has been with me every step of the way,'' she pointed out. "I know mentally I don't think I'd be where I am at today without him supporting me and always being so positive and always believing in me no matter what.''
