Top Collegiate Throwers Leaving Their Mark So Far In 2025

Five of the biggest throws in collegiate history happened this past weekend.

Would you believe that only two of them were from Mykolas Alekna?

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Records & Lists

The California standout made his long-awaited season debut in grand fashion on his home-away-from-home turf at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley. Alekna, who currently holds both the world record and collegiate record in the discus, launched the platter 70.09m (230-0) for the third-best mark in collegiate history and added a 70.01m (252-8) effort for the fourth.

Manuela Rotundo and Lianna Davidson both continued their assault on the javelin’s all-time chart 2,700 miles away at the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Florida. The Georgia teammates put four throws over 60 meters – none farther than Rotundo’s 64.17m (210-6) heave on her first attempt. Rotundo usurped Davidson as the No. 2 performer in collegiate history with that effort and inched within 2cm of Rhema Otabor’s year-old collegiate record. Not to be totally outdone, Davidson let it fly 62.27m (204-3) on her final attempt for yet another all-time top-five mark.

And does the name Erika Beistle ring a bell? Well, it should – especially after the NCAA Division II Grand Valley State standout soared to No. 4 on the all-time collegiate chart in the discus with her astounding 66.63m (218-7) fling at the GVSU Early Meet. That obliterated the old NCAA DII record and is now the eighth-best performance in collegiate history. Track & field fanatics might have seen this coming out of the athlete who finished fourth at the U.S. Olympic Trials last year.

Sydney Duncan of IU Kokomo (Ind.) rode a wave of momentum from a record-breaking indoor season and notched another NAIA all-time mark in the shot put. Two weeks ago, Duncan sent the implement 16.60m (54-5½) at the Yellow Jacket Collegiate Open to move up to No. 3 on the NAIA all-time outdoor chart.

If you’re looking for big marks this upcoming weekend, look no further than the Oklahoma Throws Series World Invitational in Ramona, Oklahoma. You’ll see several collegians in the mix, but none who left a bigger impact on history than Alekna. That’s because he returns to the site of his world record-setting heave last year. Alekna took down the oldest world record in the books when he threw the disc a majestic 74.35m (243-11) on April 13, 2024.