John Mahr enters his fourth year with Northwest Nazarene track & field in the 2022-23 season, coaching the pole vault and multi-events.
Mahr has spent over 35 years as a track & field coach, including 37 at the high school level and eight combined between Azusa Pacific and NNU.
While at APU, Mahr was a part of the 1995 NAIA Indoor Champions squad and coached the 1995 NAIA Women's High Jump Champion in Latresse Moffet.
Mahr has plenty of accolades from his high school coaching career, including four California State Girls Cross Country Championships, two Cross Country National Championships (girls in 2002, boys in 2008), California State Coach of the Year in 2005, and three-time SoCal Coach of the Year (1992, 2002, 2005). He coached 24 High School All-Americans in cross country and track & field including Shannon Meyer, the 2002-03 Jr. National Champion and USATF National Record holder in the heptathlon.
Mahr has a number of coaching certifications, including the original TAC (Now USATF), Lead Certification Instructor (1988), USATF Level I Coaching Education Lead Instructor, LA84 Foundation Lead, and Instructor, Advanced Instruction - Cross Country and Track & Field.
Outside of high school and college athletics, Mahr also developed the Comprehensive Athletic & Training Facility at the Naval Air Station in Miramar from 1984-85.
He competed as a decathlete at Point Loma Nazarene University from 1978-1981, where he earned a BA in Physical Education. Mahr also has an MA in Kinesiology, with an emphasis in Physiology and Biomechanics.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Mahr lives in the Treasure Valley with his wife, Dee. They have five children, 12 grandchildren, and one great-grandson. In his spare time, Mahr enjoys wilderness hiking, extreme mountain biking, ice hockey, and supporting The Ohio State University.
