MILWAUKEE – The Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) has announced the 2026 Winter/Spring FAR Awards, with Jessa Alderman, Kolby Dax, and Mason Dopirak earning honors.

Alderman, who was named the 2026 NACC Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year, won eight NACC individual titles in her career. She won three consecutive crowns in both the indoor and outdoor shot put and adding on indoor weight throw titles in 2024 and 2026. Alderman also finished on the podium on four other occasions in the discus throw (third-2025, second-2026) and hammer throw (second-2025 & 2026). She shared Field Athlete of the Meet at the 2026 NACC Outdoor Championships with teammate Josephine Jacklin.

Alderman capped her career by earning USTFCCCA First Team All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in the shot put at the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She had previously earned second-team all-America honors with 13th-place finishes in the shot put at both the 2024 and 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Alderman graduates holding three NACC records, all set in 2026. She won the shot put at both the NACC indoor (14.02m; 46-0) and outdoor (14.43m; 47-4 1/4) championships in record fashon. Alderman's throw of 15.09 meters (49-6 1/4) at the UW-La Crosse Uncaged Eagle Open in May set a NACC all-time mark and ended the season as the top throw in NCAA Division III. She also holds MSOE records in the shot put (indoor and outdoor) and weight throw.

On campus, Alderman has served as an MSOE Student Success Ally, assisting students in the area of time management, organization, and developing good study habits. She also took the initiative to create opportunities where they previously did not exist, founding MSOE's Water and Environmental Team (WET). After spending over a year working with faculty and staff to meet requirements and overcome challenges, Alderman served as the orgainzation's initial president with the goal of building something sustaining. One of the group's recent projects involved designing an irrigation system for the gardens of a non-profit organization in the Milwaukee area. She also traveled to Guatemala as a member of a public health brigade to improve the sanitation of a rural community with no access to drinking water.

As a result of her dedication in the classroom, Alderman has already started work on a master's degree in civil engineering with a concentration in environmental and water resources engineering (EWRE) as an early-entry graduate student.

Academically, Alderman has been named to the MSOE Dean's List six times, the last four semesters with High Honors. She was also a three-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® selection (2024, 2025, 2026), a two time United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Scholar (2024, 2025), and a 2026 inductee into Chi Alpha Sigma (Wisconsin Lambda Chapter).
Dax, a senior, finished his career as a three-time all-NACC selection in cross country, pairing a 13th-place finish in 2022 with matching sixth-place finishes in 2023 and 2024. Injuries prevented Dax from competing as a senior. On the track, he was a nine-time point-scorer at the NACC Championships. Dax's top finish at the indoor championships came in 2025 when he placed third in the 5,000-meter run. He also posted finishes of fourth (2023), fifth (2024), and seventh (2026) in the 5K as well as a seventh-place finish in the 3,000 in 2023. Dax made the podium three times in the 10K at the NACC Outdoor Championships, placing second in 2023, and third in 2025 and 2026. He also took seventh in 2024.

In 2026, Dax posted the NACC's top indoor 5K time with a 15:07.58 clocking to win the UW-Whitewater Karl Schlender Invitational in January. He also ranks in the top-five at MSOE all-time in the indoor 5K and outdoor 10K. Dax posted his personal-best time of 31:51.34 in the 10K at the 2025 NACC Championships.

Across the three sports, Dax was a member of eight NACC championship-winning teams - four in cross country (2022-25), and two each in indoor and outdoor track and field (both 2023, 2026). He was also a member of four runner-up squads, taking second at both the indoor and outdoor championships in 2024 and 2025.

Dax has been involved in several service projects during his time at MSOE. He, along with a few other team members, began a team study table for the team during his junior season that provided a platform for upperclassmen to act as tutors for the newcomers. Dax also mentors underclassmen prepping for interviews. Additionally, he has also volunteered at high school during breaks, acting as an assistant coach and mentor figure. In advance of his final two cross country seasons, Dax arranged and hosted a series of informal orientation and icebreaking activities, seeking to build a more cohesive team and a more empowering environment for fellow runners.

Academically, Dax was a two-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® selection (2025, 2026), a four-time NACC Scholar-Athlete and a nine-time Dean's List with High Honors recipient (three trimesters, 2022-23; six semesters, 2023-2026).
One of only three men's basketball players in conference history to be named to the All-NACC First Team four times (Austin Stueck, MSOE, 2013-16; Collin Kennedy, WLC, 2016-19), Dopirak capped his career with a spectacular senior season. He was named NACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year after helping lead MSOE to a share of its second NACC title overall, and its first since 2019. In the process, Dopirak set a new NACC single-season scoring mark (678 points) behind 23 20-point performances - also a NACC single-season record - and was rewarded with first team all-region/district honors from D3hoops.com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), a third-team all-America nod from D3hoops.com, and a spot on the NABC All-America Second Team. He was also a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, which is presented annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division III basketball student-athlete.

Dopirak finished his career second on the NACC all-time scoring chart with 2,175 points, just 24 markers shy of the top spot held since 2013 by Lakeland's Jake Schwarz (2,199). He also ranks third on MSOE's NCAA-era scoring chart.

All told, Dopirak was a three-time D3hoops.com All-Region pick, also earning third-team honors as as a sophomore in 2024 and second-team honors as a junior in 2025. He was also named to the NABC All-District second team in 2025.

In addition to maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average, Dopirak actively pursued a range of research opportunities at MSOE. Two research projects were accepted for publication in 2025, while a third was under review as the Spring 2026 semester drew to a close. Additionally, he volunteered at the Orthopaedic Rehab Clinic at Froedert Hospital.

Around campus, Dopirak volunteered at Kinship Community Food Center, a local food pantry in Milwaukee. He also launched MSOE's chapter of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), serving in a leadership role as president since Fall 2024. Dopirak's goal in starting the chapter was to provide MSOE students with comprehensive exposure to the medical field, exposure they might not have otherwise had.

A four-time NACC Scholar-Athlete, Dopirak was also to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Team and the NABC Honors Court in 2025 and 2026, and, as a senior, was named singled out by CSC as the 2025-26 Division III Men's Basketball Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year. After being named to the MSOE Honors List his first two quarters, he was named to the MSOE Dean's List with High Honors in each of his final seven terms (one quarter, six semesters)