Thursday, March 11
Fayetteville, Ark.
All Day
University of Louisville
vs
NCAA Indoor Championships
Forrest, Hudson, Warner-Savage, Welter Set for NCAA Indoor Championships
March 10, 2021 | Track & Field
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville's Sterling Warner-Savage, Makenli Forrest, Halee Hudson and Aliyah Welter will open competition at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The 2021 men's and women's individual and team championships will be decided Thursday through Saturday, March 11-13. University of Arkansas will play host at Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For more information regarding the Division I indoor track and field championships, log on to ncaa.com.
The Cardinals' competition will begin on Thursday with Forrest and Hudson competing women's weight throw at 5:30 p.m. On Friday, Warner-Savage will run in the 60m prelims at 3:45 p.m. Welter will follow at 7:15 on Friday in the pole vault.
NCAA Indoor Championships
March 11-12, 2021
Fayetteville, Arkansas | Randal Tyson Center
Live Updates | ESPN3 Watch Link | Louisville NCAA Notes
Louisville Schedule
Thursday, March 11
5:30 p.m. (ET) Women's Weight Throw
Friday, March 12
3:45 p.m. (ET) Men's 60m
7:15 p.m. (ET) Women's Pole Vault
Sterling Warner-Savage, (Snellville, Ga.), is coming off of a bronze medal showing at the ACC Indoor Championships. The redshirt sophomore has collected four wins in the 60m dash this season, setting a school record – and a personal best of 6.65 for the event in the season-opening McCravy-Green Invitational. He then matched that record at the Doc Hale Virginia Elite. The mark stands tied for the 12th best time in the nation this year. Warner-Savage owns the top 10 spots on Louisville's all-time list for 60m dash
performances.
Warner-Savage on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
"When I knew I qualified, my reaction was more like a drive to want to get better before the NCAA meet. So I was more driven to train and get better. I look forward to just going in there and enjoying it. It's pretty difficult to get there and I want to enjoy my achievement, but also get there and compete."
Makenli Forrest (Ellenwood, Ga.), earns her fourth NCAA Indoor Championship appearance. She earned All-American honors in 2020, when the event was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19. Prior to that, Forrest finished runner-up in the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships to earn first team All-America honors with a personal best throw of 22.54m (73-11.5). In 2018, she finished 15th in the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Forrest on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships
"I'm definitely exciting and hoping that this year will actually happen, because last year we got there and had to turn around and come right back home. I'm excited to actually get to compete this year. I'm excited to have my teammates come with me this year as well."
Senior Halee Hudson (Williamstown, Ky.) has tallied top-three finished three times this season, including a fourth-place finish in the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships to earn second team all-Conference honors. Her personal-best mark of 21.41m (70-3) in the Lenny Lyles Cardinal Invitational ranks 16th nationally. She has finished among the top three in four meets in the indoor season.
Hudson on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships
"It had been a waiting game after ACCs to make sure I stayed in the top 16, but when I got that phone call from coach... it's not shock, because I've been working for this since I switched events and started doing indoor my junior year. It's been six years of work here that finally led up to being on the stage where I can compete against the top in the country in the weight throw and it's just so exciting. I immediately called my parents and told them I was heading to Arkansas - we've all been waiting on it and it was just too good of a feeling.
"I look forward to competing with Makenli for another week. Obviously she's one of the best in the nation, so getting to compete with a teammate at that level is worthwhile and just enjoying the weekend. Like I said, I've been working toward this since I got here, so it's just exciting."
Aliyah Welter (Monticello, Ill.) tied a school record with a vault of 4.32m (14-2) to place second in the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships. The mark was a personal best and stands tied for 12th in the nation. The junior has three runner-up finishes in five competitions this season.
Welter on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships
"After I made the jump (at the ACC Championship), I knew it was going to be close - in pole vault, one centimeter can make a difference. There were still some other conference meets to go, but I held on and I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be able to go compete in the NCAA. I look forward to competing against the best vaulters in the nation. It's just so exciting to think about. I'm going to think about it as just another meet and just try to execute my vaults and have fun."
The 2021 men's and women's individual and team championships will be decided Thursday through Saturday, March 11-13. University of Arkansas will play host at Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For more information regarding the Division I indoor track and field championships, log on to ncaa.com.
The Cardinals' competition will begin on Thursday with Forrest and Hudson competing women's weight throw at 5:30 p.m. On Friday, Warner-Savage will run in the 60m prelims at 3:45 p.m. Welter will follow at 7:15 on Friday in the pole vault.
NCAA Indoor Championships
March 11-12, 2021
Fayetteville, Arkansas | Randal Tyson Center
Live Updates | ESPN3 Watch Link | Louisville NCAA Notes
Louisville Schedule
Thursday, March 11
5:30 p.m. (ET) Women's Weight Throw
Friday, March 12
3:45 p.m. (ET) Men's 60m
7:15 p.m. (ET) Women's Pole Vault
Sterling Warner-Savage, (Snellville, Ga.), is coming off of a bronze medal showing at the ACC Indoor Championships. The redshirt sophomore has collected four wins in the 60m dash this season, setting a school record – and a personal best of 6.65 for the event in the season-opening McCravy-Green Invitational. He then matched that record at the Doc Hale Virginia Elite. The mark stands tied for the 12th best time in the nation this year. Warner-Savage owns the top 10 spots on Louisville's all-time list for 60m dash
performances.
Warner-Savage on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships
"When I knew I qualified, my reaction was more like a drive to want to get better before the NCAA meet. So I was more driven to train and get better. I look forward to just going in there and enjoying it. It's pretty difficult to get there and I want to enjoy my achievement, but also get there and compete."
Makenli Forrest (Ellenwood, Ga.), earns her fourth NCAA Indoor Championship appearance. She earned All-American honors in 2020, when the event was canceled due to the spread of COVID-19. Prior to that, Forrest finished runner-up in the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships to earn first team All-America honors with a personal best throw of 22.54m (73-11.5). In 2018, she finished 15th in the NCAA Indoor Championships.Forrest on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships
"I'm definitely exciting and hoping that this year will actually happen, because last year we got there and had to turn around and come right back home. I'm excited to actually get to compete this year. I'm excited to have my teammates come with me this year as well."
Senior Halee Hudson (Williamstown, Ky.) has tallied top-three finished three times this season, including a fourth-place finish in the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships to earn second team all-Conference honors. Her personal-best mark of 21.41m (70-3) in the Lenny Lyles Cardinal Invitational ranks 16th nationally. She has finished among the top three in four meets in the indoor season.
Hudson on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships
"It had been a waiting game after ACCs to make sure I stayed in the top 16, but when I got that phone call from coach... it's not shock, because I've been working for this since I switched events and started doing indoor my junior year. It's been six years of work here that finally led up to being on the stage where I can compete against the top in the country in the weight throw and it's just so exciting. I immediately called my parents and told them I was heading to Arkansas - we've all been waiting on it and it was just too good of a feeling.
"I look forward to competing with Makenli for another week. Obviously she's one of the best in the nation, so getting to compete with a teammate at that level is worthwhile and just enjoying the weekend. Like I said, I've been working toward this since I got here, so it's just exciting."
Aliyah Welter (Monticello, Ill.) tied a school record with a vault of 4.32m (14-2) to place second in the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships. The mark was a personal best and stands tied for 12th in the nation. The junior has three runner-up finishes in five competitions this season.
Welter on qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships
"After I made the jump (at the ACC Championship), I knew it was going to be close - in pole vault, one centimeter can make a difference. There were still some other conference meets to go, but I held on and I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be able to go compete in the NCAA. I look forward to competing against the best vaulters in the nation. It's just so exciting to think about. I'm going to think about it as just another meet and just try to execute my vaults and have fun."
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Pole Vault
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