MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Milwaukee School of Engineering track and field's Jessa Alderman and men's soccer's Adrian Manchado have been named the recipients of the 2025-2026 G. Steven Larson Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Student-Athlete of the Year.

Alderman is the fourth MSOE female student-athlete to be named NACC Student-Athlete of the Year, following Catherine Chappell (2007-08), Carol Cayo (2011-12), and Jerica Kotarak (2018-19).

Alderman, a Janesville, Wisconsin, native, 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 and was named the 2026 NACC Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

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 freshman, I quickly realized how much effort it takes to balance multiple responsibilities as a student athlete," remarked Alderman in her personal statement. "Thankfully, I was supported and mentored through that transition, which is why I've made it a priority to give back in this same way to serve others. Even helping one student makes the impact feel meaningful, and I feel like I can lift others up to reach their potential academically. To me, service means stepping up in behind the scenes or mundane tasks, staying positive, and creating opportunities for others, even when I don't directly benefit because others have done the same for me."

"I value academics due to the balance required to succeed as a collegiate student-athlete, especially being in a rigorous engineering program," added Alderman. "I have always been internally motivated in my education, driven by learning new material and solving problems, which has in turn helped me to develop my strong work ethic. However, I have struggled with perfectionism, but engineering has helped me grow, as there is not just one right answer, but there are many solutions that could meet the criteria."

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). Additionally, Alderman was named a Winter/Spring 2026 recipient of the NACC's FAR Award for excellence in academics and athletics, service to campus community, and determination for success.

Manchado is the fourth men's honoree from MSOE, following Austin Meier (2010-11), Logan Andryk (2015-16), and Quin Krisik (2018-19).

Manchado, a native of Cubas de la Sagra, Madrid, Spain, earned first-team all-conference and first-team United Soccer Coaches all-region honors as a defender this past season after helping lead the Raiders to a second-consecutive NACC Tournament title and NCAA Championship berth. After starting just 15 of 35 games in his first two seasons at MSOE, he started all 23 games last season, registering 19 points on eight goals and three assists. Manchado also recorded the game-winning goal in a win over Wisconsin Lutheran in early October. He was also a member of MSOE's 2023 squad that share the NACC regular-season title.

Academically, Manchado is a three-time NACC Scholar-Athlete and has been named to the Dean's List with High Honors seven times. He was also named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-America First Team and was a Second-Team Scholar All-American from United Soccer Coaches. 

Manchado - who is also pursuing a master's degree in machine learning concurrent to his bachelor's degree - has been been active on campus while at MSOE, participating in panels sharing perspectives on college success, serving as a mentor to the AI Club, and organizing study tables for both the men's soccer team and the larger campus community.

Manchado is also actively committed to developing technology to improve the lives of people around him. One such project involved building an AI system that used camera footage to track soccer players and gather quantitative insights to aid in coaching and development. The significance and scope of that project led to Manchado and his project team being selected as a top-three finalist for MSOE's Rosie Supercomputer Super Challenge.

"My family taught me from a young age that you receive what you give," noted Manchado Cano in his personal statement. "Even without a luxurious life, we helped however we could, donating clothes in our community, organizing solidarity runs to collect food, and selling lottery tickets to raise money for underprivileged countries in Africa. I believe service starts with small acts that compound when many people contribute. That's why I help students and teammates through incremental steps.

"One of my passions is developing technology that improves people's lives. I've also found meaningful ways to serve Milwaukee through partnerships with senior care facilities, the generation that built what we have today. During my internship at Direct Supply, I organized volunteering events throughout the summer where over 30 interns visited these communities. These visits had an incredible impact on both residents and interns, inspiring technology tools that significantly improved residents' lives."

"I'm indebted to the schools I've attended, the city of Milwaukee, the United States, and everyone who has given me a chance," Manchado Cano remarked. "At 18, I received the opportunity of a lifetime - coming to the United States. I'm the first in my family to earn a college degree. To squander this chance would dishonor every sacrifice my family made. Service is how I attempt to give back a bit of all the help I received. My family showed me that wealth is not a prerequisite for generosity. The only requirement is willingness to contribute what you can, when you can."

He also served as secretary for MSOE's chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honors society, and participated in MSOE's Hacksgiving: AI For Good events, developing AI solutions for regional non-profit organizations. Additionally, Manchado was selected as an MSOE University Innovation Fellow to pursue improvement projects, leveraging technical expertise within his discipline. He also had a paper published and twice placed in the top five at the Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium.

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