UWEC Athletics Hall of Fame
Sara Laun-Cannon swam the butterfly, individual medley and distance freestyle for Blugold teams that won four conference championships and one NAIA National Championship. She was a three-year NAIA All-American, a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and a four-year member of the CSCA All-Academic Team. While not the star of the Blugold team that won the NAIA title in 1988, Laun twice was named the team’s Hardest Worker (1989, 1990) and twice the team’s Most Improved (1988, 1989). She captained the team in 1990-91 when she was also named the WWIAC Scholar-Athlete for swimming.
Laun was named a Third Team Academic All-American in 1990 and a First Team Academic All-American in 1991, the same year she received the university’s Outstanding Senior Award. A two-time Super Six Award winner, Laun graduated summa cum laude with a degree in zoology and chemistry. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School with the help of an NCAA post-graduate scholarship. After receiving her medical degree in 1995, she did her pediatric residency at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. She received a number of awards during her residency including a patient award for outstanding service. At the time of her induction, she was a full partner in a private clinic of 20 pediatricians and manages the general health care needs for 2,000 patients from birth to age 21. She was the chair of the Technology committee at the Children’s Clinic and a member of the Newborn Nursery Committee.
Since arriving on the west coast, the Kiel, Wisconsin native has climbed the summit of Oregon’s 11,237-foot Mt. Hood twice. She has continued to swim, participating in the Masters Nationals in both 1995 and 1999. She has also completed the 200-mile Hood to Coast Relay twice. At the time of her induction, she and her husband were parents of one child.
