Women's Outdoor Track and Field | 5/24/2025 6:55:00 PM

PUEBLO, Colo. – National Champion has a nice ring to it and Kelly Leszcynski (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) can add that to her resume after a record-setting day at the 2025 NCAA DII Women's Track & Field National Championship meet, Saturday.

Leszcynski won the title with a school-record throw of 52.07 meters (170' 10"). The sophomore was seeded second in the event as she broke her own school record at the LHU qualifier with a throw of 50.40 meters. She demolished that record with her first throw at the National Championships, setting the bar high for her competitors in the finals.

Her standard held strong through the final three rounds as the eventual runner-up, Federica Dozio, threw 51.72 meters (169' 8") in the first round of finals to solidify her second-place finish.

Leszcynski's throw is the furthest of the 2025 season for DII women's track & field season and would have won the event the last two years.

The Nazareth native is the first National Champion for head coach Bernie Empie and the first National Champion for the Bloomsburg women's track & field team. Leszcynski is the just the second individual National Champion for either the men's or women's teams joining Justin Shirk, who won the javelin in 2012 with a throw of 71.90 meters (235' 11").

Leszcynski's resume is nothing short of impressive after just her second season in the maroon & gold. The sophomore finished fourth in 2023 to earn her first All-America honor after taking second that season at the PSAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She was sidelined by an injury in 2024 but came back stronger for the 2025 season. She won the javelin at the 2025 PSAC Championships to earn her first gold medal of her career. She has the top-11 furthest throws in program history.

Leszcynski is now a two-time All-American, and the first to earn a second All-America honor since Vicki Davis was an All-American in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run in 2013. She is just the third two-time All-American in program history.