Colorado State’s Mya Lesnar won the women’s shot put title at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships on Thursday, sealing the national crown with her very first attempt.
Lesnar’s opening throw of 62ft 4½in (19.01m) at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, stood as the top mark throughout the competition. The only other competitor to come close was Illinois’ Abria Smith, whose best effort measured 61ft 10¼in. Lesnar also registered the second-best throw of the day (61ft 11in), capping a commanding performance.
It marked the second NCAA title for Lesnar, who also won the indoor championship in 2024. The 24-year-old senior is the first Colorado State athlete in 20 years to win an outdoor national title, joining Loree Smith (2005 hammer throw) in school history. She is now a four-time first-team All-American.
Lesnar, daughter of former UFC and WWE champion Brock Lesnar, transferred to CSU from Arizona State and has since developed into one of the nation’s top collegiate throwers under coach Brian Bedard. In 2024, she finished sixth at the Paris Olympics and entered this week’s meet as the No 1 seed in the nation. Her personal best of 64-3¾ would have earned an Olympic bronze last summer.
“This one means a lot,” Lesnar said. “It’s taken a lot of work to get back to No 1.”
Her national title echoes the collegiate success of her father, who won the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship while competing for the University of Minnesota. In one of the most dramatic finals in tournament history, Brock Lesnar escaped from the down position in double overtime to secure a 3-2 victory. That win capped a 50-2 record at Minnesota and launched a career that would span the WWE, UFC and a brief NFL stint: auniquely dominant athletic legacynow matched in part by his daughter’s own rise to NCAA stardom.
Elsewhere on the first day of women’s finals, Georgia’s Stephanie Ratcliffe defended her NCAA hammer throw crown with a toss of 234ft 2in. Washington’s Hana Moll broke the collegiate pole vault record with a clearance of 15-8½, surpassing the previous mark held by her twin sister Amanda. And New Mexico freshman Pamela Kosgei shattered the meet record in the 10,000 meters, finishing in 31:17.02.