EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

Brianna Leahy, Sr., UW–Platteville women's track and field
UW-Platteville senior Brianna Leahy closed her collegiate career as a National Champion after winning the women’s shot put title with a throw of 15.60 meters (51’2.25”) at the 2022 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH., on Thursday-Saturday, May 26–28.

Leahy’s not only set a new school record but also stands as the fifth-best throw all-time at the NCAA III Championship Meet. She is the first women in Pioneer program history to win the shot put title.  

Leahy, a Shullsburg graduate, also placed 12th in discus at the National Meet, marking a throw of 40.68m (133’5”). 

Skye Digman, Jr., UW–La Crosse women's track and field
UW–La Crosse junior Skye Digman, a former Platteville High School standout, became the third thrower in school history to win the NCAA III discus title on Thursday, May 28 with a throw of 157–7. Digman joins Cindy Lensmire (1983, 1984) and Patti Franckowiak (1999) to win the national discus title. The mark of 157-7 is the second longest throw in school history as Lensmire set the school record in 1983 with a distance of 169-6.

The top finish gives Digman her fifth career NCAA Division III Outdoor All-America honor. She placed seventh in the shot put in 2019 and earned three honors in 2021, finishing second in the hammer throw, third in the shot put and seventh in the discus throw. Digman won the indoor shot put at the 2022 national championships.

Her title on Thursday marks UWL's 28th individual national championship in school history, which ranks third in NCAA Division III history. UW-Oshkosh leads with 50 titles and Christopher Newport University (Va.) is second with 29.

Digman also placed fifth in the hammer throw (177'4") Saturday and ninth in the shot put (45'7") Friday at this year's championships to help the UW–La Crosse women finish second as a team with 51 points behind Loras (55).

Digman was also recently named to the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Academic All-District Six Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). 

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Emma Lawrence, Jr., UW–La Crosse women's track and field
UW–La Crosse junior Emma Lawrence earned All-American status in four events to run her career total to 10 All-American honors and helped the Eagles finish second at the DIII Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. The former Benton star placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:00.29) and sixth in the 100-meter hurdles (13.92), and she also joined with teammates Jessica Stelzner, Carley Elmhorst and Emily Dawidowich to finish fifth in the 4x100-meter relay in 46.85 seconds and with Amber Johnson, Mara Schroeder and Hannah Zenkovich to finish fifth in the 4x400 relay in 3:44.58. Lawrence also joined Digman on the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Academic All-District Six Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). 

Will Lawrence, So., UW–Platteville men's track and field

Emma Lawrence’s younger brother Will Lawrence, a sophomore at UW–Platteville, joined his sister as an All-American after placing second in the men’s javelin throw with school-record breaking throw of 66.03m (216’7”) at Nationals.