MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Milwaukee School of Engineering senior Jessa Alderman and junior Austin (AJ) Springer have been named Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year for the 2026 season.

Alderman and Springer are the first MSOE student-athletes to be named NACC Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year since the award was expanded to encompass events outside the NACC Championships in 2022.

The 2026 NACC Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Year will be announced Thursday, July 9.

The awards are voted on by the league's head track and field coaches.

2026 NACC Men's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year --- Austin (AJ) Springer, jr., Milwaukee School of Engineering
Springer was unbeaten in three attempts at the mile over the course of the season, posting wins at the Windy City Rumble, Ripon Red Hawk Invitational, and NACC Championships. He also won the 800 at the UW-Whitewater Karl Schlender Invitational, Ripon Dick Hendricks Invitational, and NACC Championships, while also taking second to Aurora's Armando Acosta at the University of Chicago Windy City Rumble.

Springer posted his best indoor marks in consecutive weeks at Ripon College's Willmore Center. He recorded the league's second-best time in the 800 with a time of 1:52.94 at the Red Hawk Invitational on Feb. 7, then clocked the NACC's top time in the mile one week later with a time of 4:11.79 at the Dick Hendricks Invitational. Springer finished the year with USTFCCCA All-North Region honors in both events.

At the NACC Indoor Championships, Springer won the 800-meter and mile runs to share Track Athlete of the Meet honors with Edgewood University's Ayden Price and St. Norbert's Kyan Lyntz. He edged Concordia Wisconsin's Isaiah Lubner for the crown in the 800, setting a new NACC Championship record time of 1:53.28 to break his own mark of 1:56.19 set one year prior. In the mile, Springer took the lead at the midway point and needed to hold off a late charge by Acosta to win by just over a second.

The 800 time posted at Ripon proved to be good enough to qualify Springer for the 2026 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala. Entering with the 12th-ranked seed time, he was unable to advance to the final out of his preliminary heat and finished 11th overall to earn USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors.  

2026 NACC Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year --- Jessa Alderman, sr., Milwaukee School of Engineering
Alderman excelled in the throws this season for the Raiders, going unbeaten in seven competitions in the shot put leading up to the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. She also recorded seven top-four finishes in the weight throw, with three victories.

Alderman won titles in both events at the NACC Championships. She won the shot put with a championship-record heave of 14.02 meters (46-0), breaking the record of 13.95 meters (45-9 1/4) set by Benedictine's Kash Allen in 2023. Alderman won the weight throw with a mark of 16.23 meters (53-3).

Alderman's top effort of the season in the shot put came at the Ripon Red Hawk Invitational in early February when she uncorked a throw of 14.55 meters (47-9). She matched that throw one month later at the Ripon NCAA Qualifier. Overall, Alderman's effort ranked first in the North Region and second nationally.

After starting the season in the weight throw with three runner-up finishes and a fourth-place finish, she broke through with a win at the Ripon Dick Hendricks Invitational in mid-February with a personal-best throw of 16.64 meters (54-7 1/4). Alderman followed that up with wins at the NACC Championships and the Ripon NCAA Qualifier. 

Selected to compete at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, Alderman finished 13th overall in the shot put, recording a top throw of 13.14 meters (43-1 1/2) to earn USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors.

She was a five-time NACC Women's Field Student-Athlete of the Week during the 2026 indoor season.