FARMINGTON, Utah (July 29, 2022) – Amongst a group of 26 recipients across the league,
Theo Quax and
Lauren Orndoff were announced as NAU's 2021-22 Big Sky Scholar-Athletes of the Year on Friday. Both Quax and Orndoff were recognized as the Lumberjacks' top scholar-athletes at the 44th Annual Golden Eagle Awards in April.
Quax was the Lumberjacks' Men's Scholar-Athlete of the Year recipient after another solid season in both cross country and track & field. In the fall, he competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships – placing 114th – as the NAU men captured its fifth Division I National Championship. He followed up by placing fourth in both the indoor and outdoor 800-meter at the Big Sky Track & Field Championships and qualified for the NCAA West Regional in the 1500-meter where he placed 28th.
The Auckland, New Zealand native, who also placed fourth in the spring in the 1500-meter at the conference outdoor meet, is an eight-time Big Sky All-Academic honoree and recently earned his third career USTFCCCA track & field all-academic nod. Quax is nearing completion of his bachelor's degree in civil engineering.
The Big Sky Scholar-Athlete of the Year award caps Orndoff's career on the hardwood and follows her Golden Eagle Top Female Scholar-Athlete award that she shared with NAU golfer Elle Kocourkova. Orndoff graduated with her master's degree in communication in the spring and also earned her bachelor's degree in psychology at NAU.
During her five-year career with the NAU women's basketball team, Orndoff was a consistent contributor scoring 922 career points in 104 games. She started 96 of those 104 games, including 76 consecutive to end her career, and led the team with 342 points scored last season. In her final year, the Medford, Ore. product and three-time Big Sky All-Academic selection averaged 11.0 points per game.
