Two Raider Track and Field athletes earned first-team all-American status at the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Senior Jessa Alderman capped off her stellar career finishing in fourth place in the shot put, the highest finish of her career, and tied for the highest finish in program history.

Alderman opened Friday’s competition with a toss of 12.70 meters, competing in flight two, before having throws of 13.58 meters and 13.54 meters to sit in seventh and qualify for the finals. From there, she threw 13.24 meters and scratched her fifth throw before having her best throw of the day on the final throw of her career, going 14.12 meters to move up to fourth place, finishing on the podium for the first time in her career.

"Jessa being able to cap off her collegiate career with a podium finish on the national stage was a huge testament to her talent and work ethic," said head coach Malachi Allgood. "She showed up exactly when it mattered and her ability was rewarded with one of the highest finishes this program has ever seen. She earned that accolade and I'm incredibly proud of her."

Alderman finished off her career at MSOE with four all-American honors, three second-team honors at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, and this first-team honor. Over her career, Alderman has set three school records, along with eight Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) titles over her four years.

Sophomore AJ Springer won his preliminary heat of the 800-meter run to automatically qualify for the final with a time of 1:50.09. He sat towards the back of the pack through the first 400 meters before making a massive move on the back stretch in perfect position to take first.

In the final race on Saturday, Springer had that same strategy as he sat in seventh through the first 400-meters, making a move up to sixth in the backstretch, tracking down one more on the home straight to finish fifth, his second all-American honors this season and his first first-team honors.

"AJ had a great weekend," said head coach Bill Massoels. "This has been his plan since indoor nationals from last year. From the prelims to the finals, he executed the race plan flawlessly and to be .54 of a second from second place shows his talent."

In addition to his fifth-place nationals finish, Springer set the school record for the 800-meter run this season and was crowned NACC conference outdoor champion of the 1,500-meter and 800-meter run. His success also helped the men’s track and field team become “triple crown” winners this year as the teams claimed the NACC conference title in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.