BOSTON — A junior at Colorado State University (CSU) made history on Saturday after she won the Indoor Women's Shot Put National Championship in Boston — a first for women in the university's track and field program.
Over the weekend, the team traveled to the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships at The Track at New Balance in Massachusetts.
Shot putter Mya Lesnar entered the competition as a favorite to win, CSU reported. Her winning throw — her fourth attempt — measured 18.53 meters. Her previous attempts that day were 15.36 meters and 16.97 meters, according to CSU.
"We got off to a slow start," said head coach and throws coach Brian Bedard. "Mya was just pressing a bit, not quite hitting her technical cues. She settled down in the final throws and began to compete like Mya. We got the result we wanted and I think Mya gained some good experience as she worked through the competition."
This not only marked a record for the facility, but was the first women's indoor national championship win in CSU Track and Field history. Lesnar is the second-ever woman from CSU to win a national championship, with the first at the 2005 outdoor competition. That year, Loree Smith won the women's hammer throw.
Lesnar, whose hometown is Alexandria, Minnesota, is also the first indoor national champion for CSU since 2018, when Mostafa Hassan defended his 2017 crown, also in shot put, from the year prior.
Lesnar left the meet as a First-Team All American, CSU said.
Her father is American professional wrestler Brock Lesnar.
Her teammate, Gabi Morris, placed 13th in the event with a throw of 16.25 meters. Because she finished in the top 16 nationally, Morris earned her Second-Team All-American honor after earning her first last year, CSU said.
The CSU Track and Field team will travel to the Jerry Quiller Invitational on March 15 and 16 at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
