INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA released the official qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Tuesday afternoon, with Northwest Nazarene's Laurenz Waldbauer qualifying in the javelin.

It comes as no surprise, as Waldbauer currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in the event. The freshman has competed at just three meets this year, but managed to achieve a mark of 72.38 meters (237'6") at the Idaho State Bengal Invitational on April 29 that set a new NNU record and ranks second all-time in GNAC history.

The championships will be held from Thursday, May 26 to Saturday, May 28 in Allendale, Michigan on the campus of Grand Valley State University. Specifically, the men's javelin event is set to take place on Saturday the 28th at 10:30 a.m. Eastern / 8:30 a.m. Mountain.

Waldbauer is one of just three throwers in the nation to eclipse the 70-meter mark this year, joined by Jordan Davis of Southern Connecticut State (71.83m) and Rajheim Carby of Missouri Southern (71.13m). The next closest qualifiers are nearly a full five meters behind at 67.43m or below.

He is the first Nighthawk to qualify for nationals since Jake Knight did so in both the shot put and discus for the Outdoor Championships in 2019. Knight is also the last NNU athlete to earn All-American honors, placing fifth in the discus that year.

Waldbauer also joins 21 other GNAC athletes at the national championships.

A full meet schedule and entry lists can be found at https://results.leonetiming.com/?mid=4919.