By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – A year for the ages by Northwest Nazarene University javelin thrower Laurenz Waldbauer culminated with an NCAA gold medal around his neck, a reality that was not surprising for those who followed him from the outset of the 2026 campaign.
 
From his opening javelin throw of the year – a personal best set in January – to his final toss at the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 23, Waldbauer was at the pinnacle of the event at the Division II level. On Tuesday, he was announced as the 2025-26 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Male Athlete of the Year. The GNAC Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one male and one female deemed to have achieved the highest performance athletically. The female winner will be announced on Thursday.
 
“Laurenz is a good benchmark for what an NCAA student-athlete should strive for,” said NNU head track & field coach Greg Mitchell. “He is obviously a very gifted individual physically, but he did all of the little things that separate the great from the good. He worked on technique more precisely than others. He approached the weight room differently than others. He was obsessive about prehab and rehab. Watching him prepare for nationals this year was eye-opening – no stone was left unturned. And this pursuit of excellence carried over into the classroom where he maintained a 4.0 GPA through both his undergraduate and graduate career. You really can't achieve more as a student-athlete at the NCAA DII level.”
 
Waldbauer took home the conference’s top individual athletic award, but his performance in the classroom throughout his career was also unparalleled. On his way to an NCAA runner-up finish in 2025, Waldbauer claimed the NCAA Elite 90 award presented to the individual at each NCAA Championship event holding the highest GPA. He maintained a perfect 4.0 throughout completing his undergraduate degree in global business as well as his M.B.A. He became the second man in GNAC history to earn both the GNAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year (2025) and the GNAC Male Athlete of the Year awards, joining Seattle Pacific’s David Downs who claimed both honors in 2014.
 
The crux of Waldbauer’s unforgettable season came in Emporia, Kan., where he avenged last year’s national runner-up finish by topping the field of competition last month. Waldbauer’s winning throw came on his third attempt, as he cleared 241-3 feet (73.53 meters) to beat the other 21 throwers. That was enough for a sizeable victory margin ahead of runner-up Tevz Podlipnik of Fresno Pacific, who threw 236-6 feet (72.09 meters).
 
Waldbauer became just the second man since the GNAC was formed in 2001 to win a national title in the javelin. The only other to achieve the feat was GNAC record-holder Cody Parker of Alaska Anchorage, who took home the NCAA gold medal in 2013. He is also just the 11th man in GNAC history to win an outdoor national title in any event, and the first to do so since David Ribich won back-to-back 1,500-meter NCAA titles in 2017 and 2018. He joined 2017 NCAA pole vault champion Payton Lewis as the second man in school history to claim an outdoor NCAA gold medal.
 
Waldbauer’s season started with a bang at the Broward Elite Javelin competition in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in late January. He unleashed a monstrous toss of 243-1 feet (74.09 meters), a figure that stands as the second-farthest javelin throw since the GNAC was formed in 2001.
 
He never looked back after that, dominating the competition wherever he went throughout the 2026 spring season. In the nine meets that Waldbauer competed in, he placed first or second in the javelin in every single one. His only two runner-up finishes were against unattached competitors, as he went undefeated against collegiate competition for the entirety of the year. Waldbauer took home his second-career GNAC gold medal in the javelin, producing a throw of 217-10 feet (66.39 meters) on May 4 in Ellensburg, Wash. It was his fourth-career GNAC medal overall, as he won in 2022 and was the conference runner-up in both 2024 and 2025.
 
A four-time participant in the NCAA Championships javelin competition, Waldbauer’s career trajectory is a story of growth and persistence. He narrowly missed All-American honors in his first two competitions, taking 13th place in both 2022 and 2024, before capping his career with back-to-back podium performances at the national championship meet.
 
Waldbauer made it two GNAC Male Athlete of the Year winners in-a-row for the Nighthawks, after star baseball pitcher Ernesto Lugo-Canchola took home the award in 2025. They are the only two athlete of the year winners – male or female – for Northwest Nazarene. Overall Waldbauer is the 11th track & field competitor to win the league’s top male athlete award.
 
2026 GNAC Athlete of the Year Awards
GNAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Year – John Peckham, Alaska Anchorage, Cross Country/Track & Field
GNAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year – Scottie Ellsworth, Central Washington, Volleyball
GNAC Male Athlete of the Year – Laurenz Waldbauer, Northwest Nazarene, Track & Field
GNAC Female Athlete of the Year – Announced June 25