When the NCAA outdoor track and field championships get underway next week in Eugene, Oregon, viewers might hear a familiar last name when the finals for shot put get underway.
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Mitchell Northam is a Senior Writer for SB Nation, covering women’s college sports at Breakaway.
One of the best in the event is the daughter of former WWE and UFC champion, Brock Lesnar.
Colorado State’s Mya Lesnar won the championship in shot put in indoor track and field this past season and is now eyeing her first national title in outdoor. She’s won four consecutive Mountain West championships in shot put and was also named the Mountain West Female Athlete of the Year for 2024.
Last year at the outdoor nationals, Lesnar placed fifth in shot put. This year at the West Region qualifiers, she tossed the shot 60 feet and 8.5 inches with her first throw. It kept her atop the standings as no other thrower came within a foot of her mark.
Lesnar, a senior, is the national leader in shot put, throwing one earlier this season that went 64 feet and 3.75 inches.
The 23-year-old grew up in Alexandria, Minnesota, where she competed in volleyball and track and field. After winning the Minnesota state shot put title in high school, she began her collegiate career at Arizona State before transferring. At Colorado State, she has also won a Mountain West title in the weight throw and competed in the regional championships in the hammer throw.
She is the owner of Colorado State’s program and facility records for shot put, and it is apparent that she has inherited some of her father’s otherworldly strength.
Brock Lesnar, now 47, won an NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship as a senior at Minnesota in 2000. The two-time All-American then embarked on a career in the WWE, where he became the youngest champion at 25 and won seven titles in all. After spending some time on the practice squad with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, he pivoted his career to mixed martial arts and defeated Randy Couture in 2008 for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Lesnar successfully defended his title twice. He one of the few people to win championships in the NCAA, WWE and UFC.
Next weekend, Mya Lesnar will have the chance to add to the family’s collection of trophies and medals.
